A hoax call.

A worrying incident took place last Sunday afternoon, only minutes after I posted my last Blog update. Local resident and occasional Maggot Sandwich contributor Miles took the photo above from the corner of Morrisons car park, looking towards the entrance to Erith Pier. Several fire engines, ambulances and at least two Police cars were congregated close to the river bank and Erith Pier. Miles was unable to determine exactly what had been going on, and contacted me for information. After making some enquiries with local contacts, I was able to determine that the call - out of the emergency services was as the result of a malicious hoax phone call. Someone had phoned 999 and told the controller that a crane was on fire on the banks of the River Thames at Erith. The fact that no dockside cranes have been located in Erith since 1999 when the pier was refurbished and opened to the public by its then new owners Morrison's did not seem to register with the hoaxer. Consequently valuable first responders were tied up for a considerable period of time, when they could have been far more productive elsewhere. It was lucky that there was no major incident at the time, or lives could have been lost. I understand that investigations are under way to try and identify the malicious hoaxer and bring them to justice. 

In a surprise move by Bexley Council, the waste and recycling contract with Serco has been extended by eighteen months; many observers were convinced that the contract would be awarded to a different company, due to the perceived poor performance of Serco. As regular readers will be aware, there have been multiple incidents - including some caught on video - of Serco employees taking residents carefully sorted recyclable waste from their individual bins and pouring it all into the same dustcart, thus undoing all of the good work carried out by the residents. This has been repeatedly reported to the council, but nothing whatsoever has been done about it. Changes to the waste collection schedule are also being brought in by the council, including the introduction of two new wheelie bins – one for paper and cardboard and one for mixed recycling. What mixed recycling actually amounts to is at present somewhat unclear. Strangely the new bins are being imported from a manufacturer in Germany; I presume that a UK sourced equivalent supplier could not produce bins for a competitive price or quality. One thing that does strike me is that many people's front garden are already filled with a multitude of waste and recycling bins, and these two additions are going to make this even worse. Personally I fully support the recycling plans for Bexley Council, but I abhor the unsightly and bulky bins that they deploy. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

The Bookstore Cafe in the former Carnegie Library in Walnut Tree Road, Erith are looking to hire a Cafe Assistant for the successful new local business. The Exchange, the not for profit organisation behind the library renovation have made the following announcement:- "The Exchange is looking for enthusiastic and dedicated individuals to assist in its recently opened Bookstore Café which offers a fresh, quality and delicious menu developed by Chef Marina Power who trained and taught at the world-renowned Ballymaloe cookery school in Ireland". Anyone who is interested in this paid role can find out more about it by downloading the full job description by clicking here. 

Now that The White Hart controversy about opening hours has been laid to rest, and the African restaurant is now in normal operation, the development of the former pub garden is now being processed. As you can see in the top photograph above, the garden has been excavated and there is now a drop of around ten to twelve feet to the new ground level. The site is being redeveloped, and an application has been submitted to Bexley Council. Two of the drawings featured in the planning application are also above. The submission to the council states that:- "Erection of one 4/5 storey building comprising 3 x 3 bed. and 7 x 2 bed. flats and a commercial unit. Provision of associated amenity space, refuse and cycle storage areas and car parking within the lower ground floor". The application may undergo rather more scrutiny than usual, due to the somewhat dodgy history of the proposed developer, as has been documented in some detail by fellow local Blogger Malcolm Knight - click here for the details. Malcolm has been following the story for some considerable time. 

As I have previously mentioned, I rely on readers alerting me to stories and issues in the local area; I don't have some kind of magic prescience regarding local stories. Recently I was contacted by regular reader and occasional contributor Shane, who asked me if I had any information about the closure of the newsagent and coffee shop at Erith Station. At the time I was not aware of the closure, and Shane in return did some digging around. On Thursday morning he Emailed me to say that:- "It is back, with new owners and renovated. The woman running it seems friendly. The previous lot left under a cloud I'm told". So good news - the station now once again has a shop. Thanks to Shane for doing the investigation. 

The press advert above was originally published back in 1955; the product advertised is Cookeen hard vegetable cooking fat, which to this day is still manufactured in the ADM Edible Oils factory - the largest manufacturer of edible oils in Europe. If you have bought a supermarket ready meal in the UK, the oil used to cook it will have come from ADM Oils in Erith. It is also one of the largest local employers, with around 1,200 workers, many of whom live in the local area. It 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 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 Neilsen, who invented reinforced concrete construction techniques.

Half of British children will own a mobile phone by the age of eleven, according to new research published recently. The study of 2,000 parents shows the average child will receive a phone worth £120 on their eleventh birthday, and will then spend two hours every day glued to the device. But four in 10 parents end up regretting giving their youngster a phone at such a young age – as by their teenage years the child is transfixed by the likes of social media, texts, and computer games. Incredibly, researchers found one in 20 children will own a mobile handset by the age of six, as parents give in to primary school peer pressure. Owning a mobile phone comes at a price for parents – in addition to the £120 upfront fee, mums and dads will be expected to replace the phone at least twice due to it being lost, stolen or damaged. The study, which considers mobile phone ownership amongst children, reveals two thirds of parents will allow their child to have internet access on their device as soon as they get it. On top of this, 28 per cent of children are then allowed to use their phone all day without any supervision from an adult – despite 46 per cent have access to social media channels. The report also highlights that a third of parents fear their children spend far too much time on their phone – with one in eight youngsters spending more than four hours a day chatting to friends and playing games. According to the data, one in 10 children will use their mobile during the school day, and 12 per cent will log in to their phone as soon as they get home from school. Just 10 per cent of children can wait until after dinner before checking their phone. Just one in six parents will limit their child’s phone usage to emergencies only – with many admitting their child uses their phone for a range of activities. Unfortunately, purchasing a phone only adds to the worry parents have. A fifth of parents are concerned their child’s phone has now led to them not enjoying enough quality time with the family, and 16 per cent are concerned their child is missing out on face-to-face interactions with others. Apart from my usual antipathy towards mobile phones, I do have a concern that giving children such devices limits their ability to think for themselves or act fully independently. If they are out and miss the last bus, or some other problem occurs, all they have to do is ring Mum or Dad on their mobile phone to get picked up. They won't learn about improvisation, and in later life this will impair their ability to act in a fully independent manner. What do you think? Do the safety aspects outweigh the downsides of giving children mobile phones? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

You may recall that I recently wrote about The Metropolitan Police who are in the midst of what it is calling a trial of automated facial recognition (AFR) technology, although it has been using the kit since 2016. Recently it used the kit in Romford, parking a van outside the station between 10am and 6pm. The cameras scan the faces of passersby and checks them against a watch list that is supposed to be freshly drawn up for each deployment. Forces have argued the public expects them to use emerging technology to improve policing, but critics railed against the fact it is being tested in live environments without a legal framework and in the face of evidence it has a 98 per cent false positive rate. Since that trial, more information has come to light that the figure is the highest of those given by UK police forces surveyed by the campaign group Big Brother Watch as part of a report that urges the the police to stop using the tech immediately. Forces use facial recognition in two ways: one is after the fact, while cross-checking of images against mugshots held in national databases; the other involves real-time scanning of people's faces in a crowd to compare against a "watch list" that is freshly drawn up for each event. Big Brother Watch's report focused on the latter, which it said breaches human rights laws as it surveils people without their knowledge and might dissuade them from attending public events. Despite Police insistence that it works, the report showed an average false positive rate – where the system "identifies" someone not on the list – of 91 per cent across the country. That doesn't mean nine out of ten people seen on camera are wrongly flagged up, instead it means that 91 per cent of people flagged up turned out to be not on the watch list. The Metropolitan Police has the highest percentage, at 98 per cent, with 35 false positives recorded in one day alone, at the Notting Hill Carnival 2017. The system, though, hasn't had much success in positive identifications either: the report showed there have been just two accurate matches, and neither person was a criminal. The first was at Notting Hill, but the person identified was no longer wanted for arrest because the information used to generate the watch list was out of date. The second such identification took place during last year's Remembrance Sunday event, but this was someone known as a "fixated individual" – these are people known to frequently contact public figures – but who was not a criminal and not wanted for arrest. Typically people on this list have mental health issues, and Big Brother Watch expressed concern that the police said there had not been prior consultation with mental health professionals about cross-matching against people in this database. The criteria for the deployment and use of Automated Facial Recognition technology is defined by the Metropolitan Police thusly:- "1. Public Interest. The use of this technology is permissible only when it is being employed in the public interest. In some cases, this might be straightforward, for example, there is a public interest in being able to identify those engaged in criminal activity. Other cases may be less straightforward. 2. Effectiveness. The use of this technology can be justified only if it is an effective tool for identifying people. 3. The Avoidance of Bias and Algorithmic Injustice. For the use of the technology to be legitimate it should not involve or exhibit undue bias. This can be unjust in two ways. First, some kinds of mis-recognition are inherently demeaning and insulting. Second, technology with these biases can result in unequal and discriminatory treatment of some individuals (for example, members of some groups may be much more likely to be detained and/or required to identify themselves). 4. Impartiality and Deployment. If the technology is deployed for policing purposes it must be used in an even-handed way. For example, it should not be used in ways that disproportionally target certain events, but not others, without a compelling justification. 5. Necessity. Individuals normally have rights to conduct their lives without being monitored and scrutinised. (a) Given that the use of the technology interferes with these rights, such technology can be used only if other, less invasive, techniques are not available. (b) Furthermore, the technology should be used in ways that minimize interference with people engaging in lawful behaviour. 6. Proportionality. In addition to meeting a ‘necessity’ requirement, the technology should also meet a ‘proportionality’ requirement. That is, it can be permissible only if the benefits are proportionate to any loss of liberty and privacy. The benefits have to be sufficiently great so as to justify any interference with other rights. 7. Impartiality, Accountability, Oversight and the Construction of Watchlists. (a) If humans (or algorithms) are involved in the construction of watchlists for use with the technology, it is essential that they be impartial and free from bias.8 (b) The construction of ‘watchlists’ needs to be subject to oversight by an independent body. 8. Public Trust. If the technology is to be used for policing purposes it is important that those using it (either in operational deployments or trials) engage in public consultation and provide the rationale for its use. 9. Cost-effectiveness. Any evaluation of the use of this technology needs to take into account whether any resources it requires could be better used elsewhere. Biometric recognition systems (including data training sets) that will be used in public places should be to be open to scrutiny and effective oversight". As previously stated, I am all for the Police using new technology to catch criminals, but it does need to be properly tested and effective, which in this case it would seem not to be. 

Bexley Council finally made a decision as to the future of the former Belvedere Police Station in Nuxley Road last week; the old building will be demolished and replaced with a four and five story apartment block which will contain 26 flats. Many locals are concerned that the development will be too large, and overshadow existing buildings, such as All Saints Church, which is directly opposite. There are also concerns about the very limited number of parking spaces that will be provided in the new apartment block; the developers counter this by arguing that they expect many of the residents to use bikes rather than cars. I find this somewhat unlikely, as any occupants of the high - end flats will probably work in London, and need to commute via Belvedere station, which is about half a mile away at the bottom of a one in seven hill. Whilst this is fine when going down it in the morning on a pushbike, it is not so great at the end of a long day at work, when your only option would be to walk up the hill, pushing the bike with you, as it is too steep to cycle up, and even electrically powered bikes struggle with the very long and steep incline. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. First a report from Barnehurst ward:- "Another good week crime wise across the ward. A theft from motor vehicle occurred in Beverley Road overnight from 4pm on the Monday 25th February, suspects took small change and sunglasses from a Ford Galaxy parked on a driveway. There was no damage to the vehicle which is believed to have been left unlocked. We have CCTV of potential suspects, enquires are continuing. Please make sure that your vehicle is locked securely, do not rely on the electronic fob always check manually that your vehicle is locked. Suspects are just walking down a street trying car door handles and taking whatever they can when they find a door unlocked. You can help reduce crime considerably just by simply checking that your vehicle is secure. On Thursday 21st February at about 3.30 pm a caravan was set on fire within an old garage block in Chipstead Road .The area had been suffering from fly tipping and the caravan was pushed up against a metal gate in an attempt to prevent further offences. The fire has also caused damage to fence panels on neighbouring properties. If you have any information on theses or any other crimes please get in touch or call CRIMESTOPPERS on 0800 555 111 this is completely anonymous and you do not have to give any personal detail. A member of the team will be at Barnehurst Golf course on Friday 8th March at 1pm. Please come along for an informal chat about any concerns or issues that you may have or just pop in to say hello. As Always please follow us on Twitter @MPSBarnehurst and Facebook Barnehurst Police". Belvedere ward - no report this week.  Bexleyheath ward:- "We have had one report of a burglary along St Audrey Avenue Bexleyheath on the Thursday 21/02/2019 between 7am and 8pm. Entry was gained via the ground floor kitchen window. Also we have had a report of a distraction burglary along Heversham Road on the 26/02/2019 at 1030am. Males posing as gardeners in order to distract and enter property and take jewellery and money. Report of motor vehicle scratched on Park Grove 0n the Tuesday 26/02/2019 between 8am and 7pm. Theft from motor vehicle on Gravel Hill Close between Saturday 23/02/ - Monday 25/02/2019 between 1800 0800hrs. Window smashed -taken air bag Sat navigator and radio and external skirt panels removed. On the Broadway 3x purses taken from bags. On Saturday 23/02/2019 0n the Broadway two females after been advised by Town Safe Officers to move on this was ignored. Stopped and arrested for vagrancy and begging. By Methuen road on Wednesday 20/02/2019 a group of youths stopped by your local police for anti - social behaviour. Engaged with the youths and advised. On Saturday 23/02/2019 on Iris Avenue reports of youths blocking the road local policing team attended and youths stopped on push bikes for anti – social behaviour. Good news officers from your local team conducted Met Trace on ST AUDREY. Met trace is a Metropolitan Service operation to help residents make their homes more secure by providing crime prevention advise and Smart Water forensic property marking kits". Crayford ward:- "Please be aware that there are bogus builders in the area. A resident agreed to a small roof repair, the “roofer” then said the job was bigger than thought and would cost much more, the money was given. The “roofer” has come back and asked for a further amount and the work has not been completed, confirmed as a scam. These people prey on people's fears and concerns and by agreeing to have a small job done this opens the door for the bogus person to demand more. Do not agree to having work done by someone cold calling at your door, always ask for personal recommendations from family or friends if you need to have work done at your home and don't be afraid to make your own checks. We surveyed Bourne Mead, Mount Pleasant Walk and part of Hall Place Crescent and will continue with this in the coming week. Overnight on 20th into the 21st February a venue in Woodside Road was broken in to by means of an unlocked door, damage was caused to electronic items and graffiti was put on the wall. A silver Renault Traffic van was broken in to on Thursday 21st February between 06.00-17.30 at Hall Place car park and an electric tester megger, tool bag and 3 Dewalt Drills were stolen. On Wednesday 20th February at 22.40 suspects were disturbed whilst gaining entry to a garage at Old Road, two Males were seen to make off in a white van. An IPhone 8 was stolen from a van parked outside Bookers Cash and Carry on Wednesday 20th February between 14.15-14.30, please don't leave valuable items on show in your vehicle. On Monday 18th February between 02.00-03.00 a black Ford Mondeo had all windows smashed whilst parked in Heathview Avenue. Between 16th and 17th February, number plates F17 LEE were stolen from a parked vehicle in Tanners Close, these plates belong to a white S3 Audi Quattro. It was reported that on Friday 1st February windows and doors were damaged by an unknown suspect in Shearwood Crescent. On Friday 22nd February between 18.00-18.30 a teenager had his mobile phone and bicycle stolen from outside McDonalds by a group of youths. On Tuesday 26th February between 08.05 and 20.15 a burglary occurred in Crayford Way. The resident came home to find the living room and upstairs lights on and realised that the patio door had been smashed, there were visible tool marks on the frame. The bedrooms had been ransacked and at this time it is not known what was stolen. We have leafletted the local homes with preventative information. Between 22.00 on Monday 25th February and 6am on Tuesday 26th February, a blue Ford Focus was broken into whilst parked at Chapel Hill, items were strewn across the drive and money was stolen. On Tuesday 26th February between 14.00-14.07 a blue Giant bicycle was stolen from outside KFC whilst the owner had gone inside to order food. Suspect was described as being about 20 years old, wearing a blue and white hat, blue body warmer, grey jumper and sunglasses. We will be at Crayford Library on Wednesday 6th March between 14.00-15.00 if you would like to come along and speak with us about anything". Erith ward - no report this week. Northumberland Heath ward:- "One Residential burglary in a flat in Brook Street reported to us this week between 0300 – 0400am on Monday 25th February. An Xbox, passports and other personal items were stolen. The suspect climbed on to a roof and entry was gained via an upstairs window. One attempted break in to a garage in Swanton Road on Thursday 21st February at 01.30am. A white transit van was seen backing up to the garage door causing £600 of damage. On Friday February 22nd at 11.40am officers were patrolling in Bexley Road when they were approached by a member of the public who had witnessed two males in a white van attempting to steal a motorbike. A witness to the attempted motorbike theft saw and informed the officers of what they had seen just before they entered Limewood Road. Suspects in a white van were trying to steal a motorbike by trying to load it into a white van. They appeared to be disturbed and quickly made off in the white van without the motorbike. In their haste they left a piece of their van, the sliding side door discarded in the road. The witnesses knew the owner of the motorbike and called to informed him. She had also been on the phone to 999 but having seen the officers did not compete the reporting process and spoke to the officers instead. The team have continued to conduct a number of stop and searches and focus our patrols in our hotspot areas Bexley Road, Becton Place, Northumberland Heath Recreation Ground and the alleyways leading to Hengist, Horsa, Northumberland Park and Charlieville Road. The next Community Contact Session (Drop In Police Surgery), will be held at the Library in Mill Road on Monday March 4th at Noon. All are welcome to attend".  Slade Green and Northend ward:- "Not good news to start with. 4 garage burglaries have occurred in the last week. Two were at Clark Close at some point between Feb 20th and Feb 24th with tools taken from one garage and nothing taken from the other. A pushbike was taken from a garage in Boundary Street at some point between Feb 23 and 22nd and finally overnight on Tuesday 26th Feb a garage in Reddy Road was seemingly rammed but access wasn't gained. We will be patrolling all our garage areas in the coming shifts. PC's Mark and James have had several positive stop and searches across the ward in the last week resulting in one suspect being charged with possession of cannabis. 2 Community Resolutions were given for the other 2 who had drugs on them. An uninsured moped was recovered in Erith after the suspects fled upon seeing mark and James patrolling. Unfortunately they got away but did leave the moped for recovery. Alderney Road has a new Neighbourhood Watch coordinator and we await registration forms for new watches in Festival Close and Cook Square in Frobisher Road. A meeting was held with Hollywood Way N.Watch after recent issues on the estate with some good intel gained from the meeting. Our next CCS is on Tuesday March 5th from 11am in Forest Road Café, please come and say hi if you are free". Thamesmead East ward:- "Unfortunately one burglary to report this week, which occurred on Sunday 24th Feb, between 1730 and 2100 hours, St Andrews Close, Thamesmead. Entry was forced via the rear patio door, untidy search, jewellery stolen. The team attended the location the following day making CCTV and House to House Enquiries. We will also be holding a street briefing on Sunday 3rd March between 1500 and 1600 hours to discuss the above, and allow residents to discuss any other issues they may have concerns about. Two motor vehicle crimes to report this week, both happened on Sunday 24th February. A Green Mercedes was stolen from Southmere Drive during the early hours, and at around 0700 hours a black Mercedes was broken into, Manordene Road. This vehicle had a taxi badge on display in the rear window. Unfortunately the ward had been targeted recently regarding mini cabs/taxis being easily identified. It is believed the suspects feel money may be left in the vehicle overnight. Other News, a male has been identified for breaking into motor vehicles, after he had left DNA behind, enquiries ongoing. The team arrested a male who was wanted by the courts for failing to appear". West Heath ward:- "Burglary - We are extremely pleased to inform our residents that we have not had any residential burglaries during the last week and we hope that this continues. Non residential burglary - On Thursday 21st February at 0730 hours police were informed that several garages in Osborne Road had their padlocks broken off, no entry was gained and nothing stolen. Theft of motor vehicle - The ward has not suffered any thefts of motor vehicles, please stay vigilant and remember to secure your vehicles and do not leave any property on display. Theft from motor vehicle - During Thursday 21st February at 2230 and Friday 22nd at 0615 hours a vehicle in Ashbourne Avenue was broken into and a mobility scooter was stolen. PC's Gill and Mo have carried out plain clothes patrols in several areas where residents have brought our attention to drug use and drug dealing. We will continue to patrol these areas in plain clothes and full uniform to address the issue. The team had a street briefing in Hadlow Road and were joined by one of our councillors. We were spoken to by a number of residents who raised a few issues about drug dealing, anti-social behaviour which the team will be addressing. Yesterday we had a good attendance at our street briefing in Brampton Road j/w Shakespeare Road, residents raised the issue of vehicles speeding along Brampton Road and not stopping at the pedestrian crossing. Our next street briefing will be held on Monday 4th March outside the library in King Harolds Way from 7pm".

The end video this week features a video by a chap who has set himself the challenge of walking all the way around the London Loop and filming each stage of his journey to be published on YouTube. The London Loop is more properly known as the London Outer Orbital Path; it is a 150-mile (242 km) signed walk along public footpaths, and through parks, woods and fields around the edge of Outer London, England, described as "the M25 for walkers". The walk begins at Erith on the south bank of the River Thames and passes clockwise through Crayford, Petts Wood, Coulsdon, Banstead, Ewell, Kingston upon Thames, Uxbridge, Elstree, Cockfosters, Chingford, Chigwell, Grange Hill and Upminster Bridge before ending at Purfleet, almost directly across the Thames from its starting point. Between these settlements the route passes through green buffers and some of the highest points in Greater London. The chap starts his round London walking trip at Erith, and in this first video makes his way to Crayford. Do give the video a watch and see what you think. Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Mother Monica.

I took the upper of the two photos above a couple of weeks ago; it shows the general bulk cargo vessel the Elka W heading down river, past Erith. Many people forget that Erith has been a maritime port town since the Bronze Age, and it is really only in the last couple of decades that the reliance on shipping has reduced. Now that Erith Pier is a centre for leisure, and less used as a mooring point for ships, the emphasis has mainly moved away from shipping as a commercial venture, and more towards it as a leisure activity - with organisations such as Erith Rowing Club and Erith Yacht Club being preeminent in this respect. Commercial shipping such as the Elka W does still play a part in the local economy - as workers at the ADM edible oil refinery in Church Manor Way will attest. ADM are very heavily dependant on commercial shipping traffic, as most of their raw materials arrive by sea and river, as can be seen in the lower of the two photos above. 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 are 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 and pervasive smell has now been largely absent, thankfully.

There are a number of scams and fraudulent operations being targetted at the Bexley area at present, two in particular are potentially very frightening for the innocent recipients - these have been confirmed as genuine by Bexley Trading Standards and Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association, and are featured separately from the usual weekly ward safety and security updates. The first scam operates as follows - this message is courtesy of Bexley Trading Standards:- "Trading Standards would like to share with you a call they took from a Bexley resident: I received a phone call at approximately 10:20am from a man who reported he was from the Tax Office. He told me he had an arrest warrant for me, he knew my name address and date of birth. He told me I owed £900.00 and 2 letters had been sent to my address but have been returned to the Tax Office. The man told me the arrest warrant will become active unless I pay £900.00 now over the phone, if I don't pay he is going to send a Police Car over with a warrant for my arrest in half an hour. I told the man I am not going to pay you any money, so the man said you can pay now or fight the case in court. I said I will fight the case in court and the man put down the phone. The caller said officers would come from Bexleyheath Police Station". BBNWA say that the HMRC will never telephone you. Never give your bank details over the phone or by email. An arrest warrant would never be issued.  The second scam that is currently being operated locally is in the form of a malicious blackmail Email. The details are as follows:- "'This is a scam, delete the message immediately: Yṍu don't know me and you are most likely thinking why yȫu're getting this email, right? Let me tell you, I installed à malwäre on the adult video clips (pᴏrnography) web-site and guess what, you visited this site to experience fun (you know what I mean). While you were watching videṑs, your web browser started out functioning as ã RDP (Remote cȫntrṓl Desktop) having a key logger which provided me with âccess to yȫur display screen and web camerã. Just after thàt, my software program gathered every ōne ᴏf yṓur contâcts from messenger, social netwŏrks, as well as email. Whát did I do? I created a double-screen video. 1st pârt shows the videȯ you were viewing (you hãve ã fine taste hähà), and next part displays the recording of your cam. What shṍuld yоu do? Well, in my opinion, $300 is a reasŏnable price for our little secret. Yᴏu'll make the pâyment by Bitcoin (if you do not know this, seàrch hоw tȫ buy bitcoin, it's extremely easy). My bitcoin áddress is: 1G1MnBr5iPJSRwZwQwmYGEKkJk5Rq1jcit. Important: You nōw have just one dáy in order to mâke the payment. (I have ã speciàl pixel in this e-mail, and at this mȫment I know that yṑu häve read this e mail). If I dоn't get the BitCoins, I definitely will send out your videṍ tо all of your cȫntacts including members ṍf yȫur family, coworkers, and many others. However, if I receive the páyment, I will destroy the video immidiately. If you wánt proof, reply with Yes! and I definitely will send ŏut your videṍ to your 6 contacts.' " The text above is a verbatim copy of the original, complete with typos, weird fonts and control characters - so don't Email me complaining about the typography. The message is complete rubbish designed to scare the recipient into paying up - there is no malware downloaded onto the target computer - it is all just scaremongering tosh. If you receive an Email of this nature, just flag it as Spam and then delete it.

Bexley Council are launching a public consultation regarding the possible installation of charging points around the borough for electric vehicles. In an announcement released on Friday, they said that:- "Local residents and businesses are being asked to have their say on the introduction of electric vehicle (EV) charging points in the borough and to help shape the Council’s plans for creating a network of publicly accessible charge points across Bexley. Electric cars are not only kind to the environment but can also save you money on fuel costs as well as providing access to a range of other financial benefits such as government grants for new plug-in vehicles, 100% discount on the congestion charge, no vehicle tax (VED) or a reduced rate depending on their CO2 emissions. If you’ve already got an electric vehicle or are may be thinking about purchasing one in the near future or perhaps you just have something else positive to contribute to the debate, please email your comments and your reason for your interest to electric.vehicles@bexley.gov.uk.  Please let us know if you are willing to be contacted for further discussion and if so, we might be calling on you to help us plan for creating the cleaner and greener Bexley of tomorrow". I am fully supportive of the move towards electric vehicles, as long as the electricity that they are powered by comes from renewable, non - polluting sources; if you are using electricity from, for example a coal - fired power station to propel your electric car, all you are doing is shifting the point of pollution. I suspect that the proposed location of any car charging points will be located in Bexleyheath, Sidcup and other points in the South of the borough, rather than in Abbey Wood, Erith or Slade Green in the North. What do you think? Please leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the launch of Windows 98. Back in the day, Windows was not an operating system as we know it today; it was a graphical user interface which sat on top of the actual operating system - DOS - which stood for Disk Operating System. From Windows version 1 through various incarnations up to and including the appallingly unreliable Windows ME, all Windows did was act as an easy to use interface on the top of the then already ancient and outdated DOS, which actually did all of the work. DOS was actually an almost like for like copy of an even older command line interface operating system called CP/M. This was deemed acceptable for home use, but not for office and professional use, Microsoft created a second operating system called Windows NT - which stood for New Technology - which was a completely different beast. It was written from the ground up, and was much superior to the DOS based home versions, but had far higher hardware requirements, which were often out of reach for home users - at that time Windows NT in its various guises also had little support for peripherals outside of a tightly controlled list, and it also did not support much in the way of games, the first few versions also ran older 16 bit applications much more slowly than the home versions of Windows. Microsoft had plans to integrate the two operating system versions into a single product, but it proved exceedingly difficult to do, and for many years the two operating systems were sold side by side. Windows 98 was an update to the hugely successful Windows 95. While Windows NT 4.0 pointed to a future free from DOS, the majority of the Windows user base simply did not have the computer hardware to run much more than a souped-up version of Windows 95. Thus Windows 98 appeared to bridge the gap. Codenamed Memphis, the first beta of Windows 98 arrived in 1996 with the final Release To Manufacturing version appearing two years later. USB support came as standard, along with a range of functions intended as a nod to the then new World Wide Web. Applications such as Outlook Express, FrontPage Express and a personal web server appeared as part of the installation. Windows 98 customers were also treated to the joy that was Internet Explorer 4, along with the Active Desktop, which allowed HTML content (such as streaming news headlines) to be shown on the user's desktop at the cost of prodigious amounts of processor power and memory. Windows 98 is regarded as the pinnacle of the Windows 9x era, with an update shipping the following year in the form of Windows 98 SE (Second Edition) including a number of minor enhancements such as the inclusion of Internet Explorer 5. The final iteration, the much derided and incredibly flaky Windows ME, arrived in 2000. With Windows 98, Microsoft cemented its position as the dominant player in the personal computing industry. However, in the midst of its self-congratulatory antics and self-inflicted legal troubles, it entirely failed to notice something else happen in 1998. A company, initially operating out of a garage in California, was incorporated. Its name was Google.

Erith is about to get a new Vicar. The position has been vacant at Christ Church Erith for a little under a year, since the previous incumbent, The Reverend Julie Conalty was promoted, and moved on to a new role as the Archdeacon of Tonbridge. Her replacement will be The Reverend Monica Eunice Cameron, who you can see in the photograph above - click on it for a larger view. Christ Church Erith will be Monica's first role as Vicar - she was Curate in the Parish of St Mary the Virgin Great Shelford, Cambridge, in The Ely Diocese. Prior to joining the priesthood, Monica had a career as a teacher, and also as a solicitor, which should stand her in good stead in Erith. Monica is a widow, and has three daughters, two of whom are adult, whilst the third will be living with her in the vicarage. Monica, who will be using the name of "Mother Monica" whilst in ministry, will be moving into the Vicarage on 14th August 2018 and she will be appointed as the Vicar of Christ Church on 22nd September at 6pm. Monica hopes to grow vegetables in the vicarage garden. I hope to be running a more detailed article on her in the near future.

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association; firstly a report from Barnehurst ward:- "Good news again for Barnehurst as we did not have many crimes. The team have carried out various weapon sweeps on the ward in relation to the Mets initiative to reduce violent crime, as several locations have been searched across the ward. If you have any information around knife crime or wish to discuss anything else with the team than please get in contact with us. However if there is an imminent threat or a serious incident than please do not hesitate to call 999. The team have noticed that a black off road motorcycle has been seen riding around Hurstwood Avenue and is being ridden by younger youths. If you happen to have any more information about this than please contact the team. Unfortunately the team will have to cancel our community contact session on Wednesday 4th July at Barnehurst Golf Club. Please join us for our community contact day on Tuesday 10th July at 11am at Barnehurst Golf Course. We will discuss any ward issues that you have and we will also provide residents with crime prevention advice. We will attempt to arrange another contact session before the next one, so please look on the website".  Belvedere ward:- "A resident in Fendyke Rd had her car door opened and cash stolen at approximately 4.30 am on Monday 25th June . The car was not locked. They have got it all on camera. The guy who carried out the theft was white with grey jogging bottoms with a light blue hoodie top. He had a rucksack on his back". Bexleyheath ward:- "We are going to hold our next contact session on Friday 6th July between 1pm and 2pm at the Conservative Club, feel free to pop along if you can. There was a report of criminal damage to two cash machines outside Halifax Bank on the Broadway. This was reported between 23/06/2018 & 25/06/2018. Also there was a report of Theft from person that was reported along The Broadway on the 22/06/2018. We have had no reports of any burglaries or attempted burglaries on the ward which is good news. The team are continuing the World cup patrols and working with local alcohol establishments on our ward to help reduce any ASB. We are also continuing high visibility patrols around Martens Grove and surrounding areas including the garages between Grove Road and Braeside Crescent as this is becoming an area for youths to congregate and misbehave. The team is also conducting regular weapons sweeps on the ward mainly around in car park areas, this is help keep weapons of the streets. A licenced premises on our ward had their licence suspended and another licenced premises had new conditions refused which wanted their licence to be extended until 2am. The team are also dealing with a GBH and Criminal damage as suspects have been identified and is currently being investigated. This had taken place at Goals in the car park area". Crayford ward:- "On Thursday 21 June at 21.30 criminal damage was committed at Grazeley Close. Suspect kicked at door smashing window and damaging a panel. At around the same time a robbery had taken place nearby on open ground close to Hall Place, the suspects were chased and later detained and arrested. It is believed that these incidents are linked. On Thursday 16th at 03.00 a black Ford KA was broken in to at Bourne Mead. The steering column was broken and the log book and car radio was taken. Between 16th and 19th June the river keeper’s area (Crayford Way) by the River Cray was broken in to and a wheelie bin containing aluminium cans were stolen. On Friday 22nd June between 03.30 and 09.00 a white Ford Transit was stolen from outside 10 Mayplace Avenue, number plate NJ62 OPF, the victim still has the keys. On Sunday 17th June between 22.00-22.30 a motorcycle was interfered with at Burgate Close. On Monday 25th June at 21.00 there was a ram raid at HSS, Acorn Industrial Estate. Anti-ram posts were removed and the van reversed hard in to the shutters causing them to buckle and entry to be gained, power tools worth approx £10,000 were stolen. On Monday 25/06/2018 a Male was arrested for offensive weapons after being reported for behaving erratically. A public order offence was committed at Iron Mill Lane on Monday 25th June at 9.15, abuse was shouted in the street. Four tickets were given to people who had been using their mobile phones whilst driving. Our team assisted with the civic parade on Sunday to ensure that all the people taking place were able to parade safely. We have also completed weapons sweeps and foot and mobile patrols around the ward to ensure that Crayford is a safe place to be and to provide reassurance to our residents". Erith ward:- "We will be at the Erith Fun day this year on the 7th July offering free bike marking; be sure to pop along if you need any further advice. I will send an update of the local crimes in Erith later in the week as currently there are a few issues with the system". Northumberland Heath ward:- "We are pleased to announce another week without any reported burglaries on the ward. Reported crime as a whole has been minimal this week with only two of theft of motor vehicle and one of criminal damage. The team were busy over the weekend being called to assist with Borough wide patrols for the World Cup and also conducting plain clothed patrols of the area. During these patrols we conducted one stop and search which started with a male using nitrous oxide canisters and ended up with him being arrested for Possession With Intent To Supply Cannabis and Psychoactive Substances and after a search of his home address being further arrested for Possession of Class A Drugs. We have been in touch with several residents about this potential rise in ASB on the ward and will be out conducting proactive patrols in these areas over the weekend to identify the youths involved, search them wherever the grounds allow and to intervene in the group to disperse them. Our next Contact Session is on Friday 6th July at noon at North Heath Library, Mill Road. Feel free to drop in". Slade Green and North End ward:- "Over the last few years the team has been working closely with L and Q housing association to evict a family well known for causing ASB and involved in vehicle crime. After initially obtaining a suspended possession order, the family continued to breach the order. Yesterday the family of 4 male adults were evicted sending out a very strong message that the police and authorities work together in partnership to evict problem tenants who continue to offend and cause issues in the local community. PC Mark Brookes-Smith has committed a lot of work with L and Q during this time and it is a great result that his hard work has paid off. The only crime of note this week is the theft of a mobility scooter from the car park in Bushey Court. CCTV is being viewed to try and identify the offender(s). The team has completed weapons sweeps in Forest Road, Orchard House and Craydene Open space in the last week as part of Operation Spectre which is set around knife crime. All the sweeps had a negative return. 6 positive stop and searches were carried out by PC Mark and James with several cannabis seizures as a result. PC James arrested a male last week who was wanted for domestic malicious communications. We await to see the outcome of the investigation. PCSO Mark attended the annual Rainbow Road street party on Saturday evening and had a nice time engaging with residents and eating the home made fare on offer. Several residents expressed an interest in taking over the recently vacated Neighbourhood Watch scheme on the estate, watch this space for updates on this". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglaries - An attempted burglary occurred in Redbourne Drive between 03:00pm on Thursday 21/06/18 and 05:15pm on Friday 22/06/18. Good News - Following an arrest for Cannabis by officers on mobile patrol in Fairway Drive, investigations by PC Nana Quarshie-Awuah are ongoing. Cannabis warning was issued to a male in Yarnton Way by PC Pruden who was accompanied by PCSO Buckley who noticed a small bag of cannabis nearby, which will be destroyed. Future Contact Date - On Thursday 5th July, a Community Contact Session will be held at The Lakeside Health Centre, Yarnton Way between 1 – 2 pm. An opportunity for members of the community to speak with a Dedicated Ward Officer".

As I predicted a while ago, the good weather has seen an increase in the number of illegal moped gangs seen in the local area - the photo above is a screen capture of a video shot in North End Road at the Crayford end recently - it speaks for itself. On Thursday afternoon as I headed towards Morrison's from Erith Station, a scrote wearing a bandanna but no crash helmet hurtled on a motor bike with no number plate through Erith town centre, along Pier Road and down into the High Street - an area that is paved and for the exclusive use of pedestrians. This is fairly typical of the anti social behaviour these scumbags exhibit. There was a report in the London Evening Standard this week which said that a recently leaked Home Office report revealed that an ‘excess supply’ of cocaine following a bumper coca harvest in Colombia has played a role, as moped gangs vie for control of a lucrative drugs market. Furthermore, the document stated that changes in policy to keep young people out of the prison system by handing them community sentences instead of jail time may have allowed violent crime to thrive. Added to this toxic cocktail of factors is anecdotal evidence from police which indicates that the decrease in stop and search since 2009 has meant young people are now more inclined to carry knives because of growing confidence that they will not be stopped. As a response to the rising knife crime rate, targeted, intelligence-led stop and search has ‘significantly increased’ since January, according to London Mayor Sadiq Khan, although total searches remain lower. Professor Simon Harding, a criminologist at The University of West London stated that "‘It’s well-documented that there’s a correlation between increased temperature and elevated crime levels.One theory is that adrenaline and testosterone levels rise in warmer weather, and people are spending more time outside, particularly teenagers on summer holidays. Ways for gang members to gain status and respect are becoming more extreme, which is why we’re seeing hyper-violent acts such as acid attacks and zombie knives. Tension in London is so high at the moment that if we get a spell of good weather it could well kick off into public disorder". Harding points out that it is important to notice the connection between multinational criminal networks involved in large-scale importation of drugs and human trafficking, street gangs dealing drugs and running ‘county lines’ (using younger gang members to shift narcotics business outside of London) and small-scale moped crime such as is prevalent in Bexley. ‘In recent years we’ve seen drugs distributed by moped in what’s become a 24-hour “dial-a-dealer” operation,’ he explained in the article. ‘It tends to be young men, aged between 15 and 22 — the pillion rider can be even younger — and as they drive around dropping off drugs they’re noticing all these “phone zombies” not paying attention to their surroundings. They snatch their gadgets and sell them to Africa or Pakistan in bulk. Each boy is carrying knives, drugs and money, so they become a target for rival gangs.’ Home Secretary Sajid Javid has vowed to ban zombie knives with his new Offensive Weapons Bill, and since October the Metropolitan Police have been employing creative tactics against moped-riding criminals, including buying slimline Scrambler bikes that can drive down narrow streets and ProSpike — a remote-controlled bed of spikes which pop up in the road to puncture the tyres of the illegal moped and motorbike riders. Under the current law, officers can be prosecuted for dangerous driving if there is an accident, leading to moped muggers removing their helmets in the belief that police won’t pursue them. But new pursuit rules, which would make suspects responsible for their own driving, are under review. Some London boroughs such as Havering on the other side of the River Thames have already changed their rules of engagement to become much more aggressive and tenacious when combatting these young criminals. In the embedded video clip below, you can see how Greater Manchester Police are now dealing with moped riding thieves / muggers / drug dealers. The Police have definitely changed tactics for the better, as you will see in the video - the known criminal scumbags did not know what hit them! What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Erith Lighthouse closes.

The photo above shows a rather unusual view of the ADM Oils Thames - side edible oil refinery, along with a moored bulk freighter, which was offloading a cargo of oilseed rape seed for processing into vegetable oil and soft spread. ADM Oils is the largest producer of edible oils and vegetable fats in Europe, and one of the largest in the World.  The ADM Oils facility is located at the end of Church Manor Way, as you can see by clicking here. Answers on a postcard please - where was the photo above taken from? Prize is an air guitar last played at the 1988 Donnington Monsters of Rock festival, and has not been played since, so it is probably a bit out of tune by now. 

Fellow local Blogger, Darryl Chamberlain of the 853 Blog has done something very ambitious and quite daring; he's crowd funding the 853 Blog so that, with enough funding, he will be able to make his online journalism a full time career. Unlike myself, an amateur who writes the Maggot Sandwich as an unpaid hobby, albeit one that takes up a large amount of my free time, Darryl is a "proper" trained journalist who has worked for The Guardian and the BBC News website. Darryl has set up a Patreon account that you can see here. He's hoping to be able to earn enough money through donations and sponsorship to pay for him to work on the 853 news and current affairs blog full time. he writes:- "I started looking more closely at issues involving Greenwich Council because they weren't receiving much coverage in the local press. Now the situation's even worse. The Mercury, traditionally the Greenwich borough's campaigning paper, is a pale shadow of its former self while the News Shopper is in tatters thanks to its owners squeezing it for every last penny of profit. And a new entrant, Greenwich Weekender, has stopped covering news after being threatened by Greenwich Council with the loss of an advertising contract for the crime of publishing some dissenting views on what councillors are up to. I'd like to be able to keep producing 853, to keep telling stories that aren't being told and to dig deeper into issues that affect the area. Over 700 people subscribe to the site - if every one of those paid £3 per month, it'd become a full-time wage. I'm not expecting anything near that, but the more people are able to pay, the more I can do. Hopefully I can live up to the generosity of those who have already donated - all contributions are gratefully accepted, and let's help keep public interest journalism alive in south-east London". Darryl plans on covering the stories that the local papers can't, or won't cover in the Charlton, Greenwich and Lewisham areas - the area covered by the old British Telecom 853 dialling code, hence the name of Darryl's Blog. I am proud to say that I am one of Darryl's sponsors, and if you would like to become one as well, you can click here for more information. 

I know that many readers will be pleased by the news that as of last Monday, trains on the Bexleyheath, Greenwich and Sidcup rail lines will have their number of carriages increased. Those that previously have had six cars will be increased to eight, and those that have had eight cars will be increased to ten. Southeastern expects to create 5,000 additional seat for morning-peak commuters to London by adding the carriages. Ten is the maximum length of train that can be used on the Greenwich line; although most stations on the line were extended to accommodate twelve carriage trains, shortly before the 2012 Olympics, two factors prevented trains regularly employing twelve carriages. The first of these is insufficient traction current to run very many long trains, but the most significant factor is the restricted length of the platform at Woolwich Dockyard Station. It is the only station on the Greenwich line which is constrained by a tunnel at each end of the platform. The maximum length of train that can stop there is ten cars; unlike on the Docklands Light Railway, where certain stations can be shorter than the trains that visit them - Island Gardens being an example - the overland trains are not able to lock out the doors of the carriages still in the tunnel - this is known as Selective Door Operation. The only time twelve carriage trains operated on the Greenwich Line was during the 2012 Olympics and 2012 Paralympics; the work - around was that trains in either direction did not stop at Woolwich Dockyard Station  - thus avoiding the problems of the doors of the front and rear coaches potentially opening whilst still being in the tunnel. Some wags also suggested the motivation was that the Olympic organisers did not want visitors to the UK accidentally getting off the train at Woolwich Dockyard, and then finding out what a dump the area then was! There have been substantial improvements since 2012. In any case the issue is moot; the trains on the Greenwich line will be longer, but the limit will still be ten car trains. 

This weekend has marked the successful conclusion of the Pier Commission and the Erith Lighthouse Project, which I have covered in detail over the past weeks. The pioneering art installation, community interactivity events and the pop - up restaurant which took place initially in Erith Riverside Gardens, and subsequently on Erith Pier have attracted much attention, and not only from local residents - people from farther afield have been attracted to Erith, in many cases for the first time. Sarah Batten, one of the Directors of arts commissioning group The Exchange writes:- " Back in March 2017, we approached Orbit and Wates Residential with an outline idea of sponsoring a contemporary arts project based on Erith Pier, with a view to drawing attention to it, and redefining or enhancing its purpose as a public space. With the sponsors the idea for ‘The Pier Commission’ – an annual arts project that would support emerging artists and contribute to community life in Erith – developed. An open call out resulted in over 70 proposals from all over the world, each reimagining the space in different ways – some bonkers, some magical, some impressive. The judging panel – consisting of The Exchange, Orbit, Wates Residential, local artists Gary Drostle and Guy Tarrant, Totally Thames and The Decorators (the group responsible for the Erith Lighthouse project) – had a difficult challenge to whittle this long list down to a shortlist of four, which were then presented to the public for the final vote. Julia Snowdin’s proposal was by far the most popular with local and wider audiences. Snowdin’s artwork, which has hung on Erith Pier for the last few weeks, has had overwhelming support from the public. From the fishermen who shelter under the sails, to the people who live in the flats opposite who watch them lit up in the evening, to the 65 people who contributed to the designing of the work (the youngest was 4 months old, the oldest 92!), to the children from local schools who made paper boats and helped us to imagine a new creative future for the town. In total over 3,000 people visited the pier over the course of the installation. We would like to thank the Port of London Authority, Morrisons and in particular Orbit, Wates Residential and Bexley Council - without their support this project would not have happened. There were of course challenges, and things that we would do differently in the future. The principal thing would be to allow ourselves more time to develop the project, and give the artist more time and resource to develop their work in close collaboration with the Erith community. We want also to explore how the programme could be extended, to other sites in Erith, and by reaching out to different groups developing close and meaningful partnerships. Probably the best thing about The Pier Commission, and the Erith Lighthouse project, has been the conversations we have been able to have with Erith residents of all ages, groups and persuasions. There is some sadness about what has happened in Erith in the past, but this is coupled with incredible positivity about the future of the town. It is this positivity, and the community spirit that we have witnessed, that will make the success of any future projects – we look forward to being a part of it." 

  

Recently I wrote at some length about the problems with Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBT) in betting shops on our high streets. Whilst I highlighted the problems these present to people on low incomes, and to those who have problems with gambling, one area that I neglected is that surrounding organised crime, and how crooks use FOBT’s as part of their own business model, astonishing as that might seem. The Gambling Commission - the industry regulator also publicly admitted what has long been privately acknowledged: FOBTs present a "high inherent money-laundering risk". In a letter to the industry trade association, the commission warned about "a retail betting model that includes high volumes of cash transactions, particularly where this includes low individual spend and a high level of anonymity, especially where that model also offers (FOBTs). What the machines provide is the chance for criminals to quickly and easily convert large sums of money from the real world into virtual cash that can later be converted back into the real thing. There is little official research into the scale and extent of such operations. The 2005 Gambling Act, which regulates the terminals, says one of its primary objectives is "preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder or being used to support crime". It has long been obvious to the public that criminals can convert their loot into a clean win on an electronic roulette table. Surveys for the commission show that 40 percent of the public regularly identify gambling with criminal activity. The industry regulator found one in 14 respondents associated money laundering with gambling. Dealers feed their drug money through the machines, losing a little and then cashing out with the vast majority of their stake. They can then collect a printed ticket from the bookmaker showing they have gambled that day – meaning that if stopped by police, they can answer questions about why an apparently unemployed young man carries hundreds of pounds in rolled-up cash. The Fixed Odds Betting Terminals arrived in Britain back in 2001, and were lightly regulated from the outset. Gamblers in bookmakers found that they could bet £100 every 20 seconds on roulette. The temptation of high-speed, high-stake casino games in the high street proved irresistible: there are now over 33,345 FOBTs in the UK. The drug dealer who wants to launder his pile if ill – gotten cash has a very straightforward strategy, which is embarrassingly simple – they bet : £20 on black, £20 on red and £2 on zero. A press of a button and the wheel spins before the ball lands on red. That's a loss of £2. The money placed on the zero is the only risk the drug dealer is taking with his cash. If the ball does land on zero, he wins £72. With no horses to run or dealer to shuffle and just the 20 second spin of an electronic roulette wheel to wait for, it takes a little over a minute for the drug dealer to cash out. Many experienced money launderers know that unless they gamble at least 40 percent of the float money they have put in the machine, an alert will pop up on the staff computer warning them of suspicious activity. So they methodically place the same bet to make sure that they have been seen to have wagered enough. The economics of drug dealing make it cost-effective to pay 5 percent to 10 percent to betting shops to launder the illicit profits. I have it on good authority that it not just proceeds of illegal  drug sales that are being laundered through the FOBT machines, but that of robberies as well; Did you know that security dyed bank notes from bank robberies can be submitted to The Bank of England and the book maker company gets reimbursed? This whole process seems to have been overlooked by the Police.

Following my article last week concerning the MBNA Thames Clipper service running experimental ferry trips from Gravesend Town Pier to London, it would seem that Bexley Council are now putting out a somewhat different line to their original rather dismissive press statement that they had no knowledge of the trial ferry service expansion, or any reference to the ferry company having aspirations to run from Erith Pier; now they are back pedalling somewhat. In a follow up statement to the one I reported last week, a spokesperson for Bexley Council has since been quoted as saying:- "We would welcome a clipper type service if it offers another option for people travelling to and from the City and central London. We don’t own the pier and, while we understand it does not currently have the facilities to allow vessels to dock, we would hope they can be provided if the service is extended along the Thames. We support greater use of the river, particularly for leisure and tourism, and we await the results of this week’s trial with interest.” Sean Collins, CEO and co-founder, MBNA Thames Clippers said in a News Shopper interview that:- “Our Gravesend trial service was a complete success. Bookings completely sold out, and we have had incredibly positive feedback from passengers, many asking us when it will become a permanent extension to our current network. The purpose of the trial sailings was to provide us with the required information to enable us to evaluate the potential of such services for the future. The infrastructure and vessels required to operate such service would need to be built, as well as evaluating other potential stops for the route to support the routes viability.”  It was also announced last week that The company behind the long-promised theme park to be constructed in Swanscombe has reached an agreement to ferry tourists to the resort. London Resort Company Holdings hope the agreement with MBNA Thames Clippers will carry about ten per cent of visitors to the theme park from central London into Kent to visit the proposed resort. It is planned that the clippers will link the resort with Tilbury and Grays in Essex, and potentially Erith Pier, as well as to central London. Sean Collins also said:- “We want to transport as many visitors to the London Resort as possible to realise the huge benefits in terms of speed, comfort and frequency of travelling by river. Having recently agreed to run free test trials from Gravesend to offer journeys direct to central London in cooperation with Gravesham Council and seen overwhelming interest, we are delighted to play a crucial role in one of the biggest Global Entertainment Resort projects in the world, where the commuter and leisure market can be served by a first class ferry service.” It would seem that the momentum to get a ferry service running along an extended River Thames route is increasing; if the theme park does actually go ahead - it has been delayed several times - mainly due to the departure of Paramount and all of their intellectual property from the deal some time ago, then improved communications to the Swanscombe Peninsula site will be imperative. As mentioned last week, there are considerable barriers to setting up a MBNA ferry terminal on Erith Pier; the problems can be divided into two specific types. Firstly there are the engineering and physical challenges to enabling a ferry to dock at the pier. A free floating pontoon extension to the existing pier structure would be needed; this would project out into the deep water channel closer to the middle of the river. This would, however create problems of its own. Whilst the floating pontoon would enable ferries to dock at the the pier whatever the state of the tide was, it would also create a hazard to other shipping that uses the river. Commercial vessels, including cargo ships and bulk freighters, such as vessels like that featured in the photo above - click on it for a larger version - use the deep water channel, and if a jetty was protruding into the channel, this might create a hazard to navigation, especially at night and at times of reduced visibility. There are several ways to manage this, the most obvious one being to make the floating jetty movable - to swing it out into the deep water channel only when a ferry was approaching the pier. Unfortunately this would add complexity, and therefore cost to the design, and for safety reasons would almost certainly require a supervising operator to be located on site. The jetty, whether movable or fixed, would require hazard warning lights, a fog horn, and a radar reflector. The pier itself would also require some shelters for waiting commuters to occupy in inclement weather - the wind coming off the Thames at Erith in winter can be absolutely bitter, not to mention the freezing rain. Who would foot the bill for all of the alterations and upgrades is uncertain - at this point it has not been debated. The second barrier to using Erith Pier as a landing place for MBNA Clipper Ferries is actually by far the more difficult one - the bureaucracy and vested interests of the likes of The Port of London Authority, Morrison's Supermarket (who own the pier) and Bexley Council. I know from personal experience that dealing with these organisations, when any mention of Erith Pier is made, it tends to provoke the response of "The answer is no, now what is the question?" Long term readers may recall that I had a small involvement some years ago with an abortive project to bring the Ross Revenge - the Radio Caroline ship to Erith Pier to open it as a public attraction for the Summer season. The objections and bureaucratic barriers that were put up to block the temporary project were simply staggering, and even the involvement of Teresa Pearce, MP for Erith and Thamesmead was not enough to get the project the green light, and it ended up being abandoned. The transformation of Erith Pier into a ferry terminal is of a completely different scale, as it would require permanent changes to the pier structure and thus its functionality, which has since it was refurbished and repurposed in 1999 been exclusively for leisure use. If London Mayor Sadiq Khan does put his weight behind the project, I can see it getting enough momentum to actually come to fruition, but to be honest, I still am of the opinion that it is unlikely to happen. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

This week’s incident reports from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association; firstly from Belvedere ward:- “This week, we have managed to identify further children / youths that have been involved in anti-social behaviour both in and around the car park in Nuxley Road. We will be making efforts to visit those we are aware of in order to speak with the subjects and their parents, to advise against the type of behaviour that has been taking place. We are hopeful that this action will have the desired effect. PC Holmes has been busy dealing with various CCTV enquiries on the ward, most of which originate from shoplifting offences taking place in both Upper and Lower Belvedere. Images of those believed to be involved are being circulated on social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook, in the hope that they can be identified. The team have very recently dealt with a female shoplifter from B and Q in Lower Belvedere who is being interviewed in relation to the offence in the very near future.” Brampton ward:- “There have been 6 crimes over the past week. 1 x computer risk to human welfare in Cyril Road 1 x Criminal damage to a motor vehicle in Birchington Close, victim has seen a puncture mark in their tyre that has gone flat , NHW coordinator spoken to regarding the incident which is an ongoing problem in the road. 1 x Attempted theft of a cycle outside The Bakery Pickford Lane, the victim was riding home on the pavement when the suspect attempted to stop the victim who then fell off the bike, members of the public attempted to stop the suspect leaving the scene, it is unknown if the offence was an attempted theft or something else. 1 x Theft shoplifting in Long Lane, suspect stole washing powder 1 x Possession of cannabis in Albury Avenue, suspect stopped whilst walking along smoking 1 x Burglary Shakespeare Avenue , suspect smashed rear kitchen window and gained access.” Colyers ward:- “There are no reported burglaries on Colyers Ward between 13/09/17 to 19/09/17. There was one reported theft of motor vehicle and one criminal damage to motor vehicle during the same period. On 16th September 2017 the victim parked his vehicle outside his house address in Elmstead Road Erith at 7pm. The vehicle was locked and secured. At about 9pm when the victim came out, he discovered that his vehicle was gone. No suspect was seen but there is possible CCTV. On Monday 12th September 2017 in Larner Road the victim had her vehicle damaged by a male on a motor bike, VRM R251XBW(?) in Larner Road, Erith. The victim indicated that the male riding the motor bike came close to her on the driver’s side and punched her wing mirror and damaged it. She had no clue why it happened and she was very shaken by the experience. The victim managed to get a picture of the VRM of the motorbike on her phone.” Crayford ward:- “Two mobile phones were stolen, one from McDonalds and one from Sainsbury's. Each victim recalls having their phones at these locations. Counterfeit notes have also been reported as being used in a Crayford shop. There have been three bicycles stolen and two mopeds stolen in this last week. The mopeds have both been located nearby. With the assistance of officers from Christchurch and Barnehurst SNT, our team completed a successful Section 23 Drugs warrant at an address close to Crayford Way. Several items were seized and enquiries will be ongoing that should lead to prosecution of offenders.” North End ward:- “2 motor vehicle crimes in the last week, 1 vehicle damaged by 3 guys on mopeds kicking the wing mirror as they rode past in Bridge Road. Please let us know any descriptions or number plates if you see any groups of motorbikes and mopeds riding around. All information we get is being used to build an intelligence plan in to trying to identify anyone involved so a red coat, orange bike etc, any of this information could prove useful in future. The other vehicle crime was a theft of number plates in Frobisher Road, no trace of the plates as yet.” Northumberland Heath ward:- “This week we have had no residential burglaries reported on the ward however an attempted burglary took place on Monday September 18th at the Natwest bank which closed earlier this year. Entry to the premises was not gained but a window was smashed and the entry door was damaged. The suspect has been arrested. Theft of a Lefan motorbike in Streamway on Thursday September 14th between 0800 – 1530 hours. The bike was stolen from the front of the property. Criminal damage to a white transit van parked in Eastry Road this week. An attempt was made to access the vehicle and tool marks and scratches were discovered around the lock. Also a theft of a box containing personal effects from a vehicle parked in Bexley Road Between Saturday September 16th 0800 and Monday 18th at 08:00. The box contained receipts, bills and other paperwork. Please be vigilant and make sure all personal belongings are out of sight where possible. An apple iPhone was stolen from a male walking in Brook Street on Wednesday September 13th at 12:45pm. The suspects made off in a Black Vauxhall Corsa. A handbag containing cash, credit cards and other belongings was stolen from an elderly lady in Bexley Road on Thursday September 14th at 10:30am. The suspects made off on a moped. The lady was unharmed but sustained wrist pain following the incident.” Thamesmead East ward:- “Good news, no Burglary / vehicle crime reported on the ward during the past week. The team attended the Southmere Park summer fete over the weekend, good fun was had by all. A spectacular firework display over the lake ended the day’s events on Saturday evening. Four youths were stopped by PCSO Buckley and Hobbs on Saturday evening after reports of Anti-Social Behaviour around the Staplehurst Court car park, Southmere Drive. Good Intelligence gained. It’s Operation Sceptre this week. The team have / will be conducting weapon sweeps on the ward and making residents aware in an attempt to reduce knife crime across the whole of the MPS.”

The ending video this week is courtesy of Reverend Simon Archer of Christ Church Erith. He's appealing for more donations to Erith Food Bank, as you can see from the short video below. Do donate what you can; it is an extremely worthy cause.