15 February 2006

Road sign thefts

The haul of 20 signs includes old favourites such as Give Way and No Entry, along with signs giving information on the new road layout in Lewisham High Street. They were spotted by an eagle-eyed council officer piled up against a wall in Courthill Road, Hither Green. The spotter took a picture of the signs on his mobile phone, before sending the evidence to the council's environmental unit.

The identity of the thief is not known but council bosses believe he or she was set to sell the signs for scrap. Do you know the identity of the road sign thief? Call the newsdesk on 01689 885790. Call the Love Lewisham line on 020 8314 7171 to report environmental crime in the borough.

Police will launch manhunt

POLICE have launched a manhunt after an alleged rapist failed to attend court. Ekene Ofoeze, aged 31, was due to appear at Croydon Magistrates' Court on December 16, charged with raping an 18-year-old woman. But Ofoeze, of Southend Lane, Catford, did not turn up and a warrant has now been issued for his arrest.

Anyone with information on Ofoeze, also known as Kenny, should call Lewisham police on 020 8284 8300 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Street crime is up by 18%

STREET crime in a borough has soared despite an overall drop in the crime rate. Lewisham police have launched a crackdown called Operation Strongbow to tackle the problem. Between April and December 2005 street crime went up by 18 per cent meaning there were 305 more offences than in the same period the previous year.

The worst month was December when there were 53 per cent more street robberies. The crime rate overall fell by 2.9 per cent. Operation Strongbow has targeted known criminals and three prolific street robbers are currently awaiting trial.

Crack pipe found in hospital toilet

A FATHER-OF-TWO says he was appalled after finding evidence of class-A drug taking in a hospital toilet. Jamie Lewis found a plastic bottle with a makeshift pipe attached in a toilet close to the children's ward at Lewisham Hospital on January 22. Mr Lewis, of Merritt Road, Brockley, says he saw a man who looked like a "junkie" walking down a corridor at the hospital moments later.

Fraud squad cops set up in town halls

The announcement comes after we exclusively revealed last week that Lambeth council would soon have a dedicated detective in place. As part of the same operation, another officer will be sent to Lewisham Town Hall in a bid to beat the fraudsters. The officers are part of Operation Sterling and will follow in the footsteps of a colleague already working at Greenwich council. A Lewisham council spokesman said the authority was committed to tackling fraud.

Barclays dispenses user-unfriendly language

Barclays Bank is dispensing with the US acronym ATM and other user-unfriendly language and practices as part of a major revamp of 1500 of its UK branches. Under the revamp, the ATM will be replaced by the more colloquial 'hole in the wall', and deposit and withdrawal options relabelled as 'money in' and 'money out'. Customers entering or exiting branches will be greeted by new signs saying 'Hi' and 'Bye'. Rather than queuing for counter service, customers will be directed 'this way to counter service' and in personal banking areas invited to 'take the weight off your feet'. Barclays has tested the use of its new language in five branches across the country, in Guildford, Bristol, Coventry, Bradford and Lewisham.