Dangermouse in SE14

"He became such a fan of trip hop and the Bristol sound that when he graduated he travelled to England. 'I fu(king hated it,' he says 'London just beat me down, man. I was working in a pub in London Bridge for two years and taking the bus home to New Cross every night. I was just working, trying to meet the rent. I didn't see the sun for, like, three weeks and I was broke and single. It wasn't what I expected.' "

Half of Gnarls "Crazy" Barkley, producer of the infamous Grey Album and MF Doom cohort - Dangermouse remains unimpressed by his time in the borough. Source : Observer Music Magazine

26 April 2006

Cheryl murder: new hunt

POLICE have relaunched a 15-year-old murder probe in a bid to find the killer of a Nelson mother. Cheryl Shackleton was found dead in a London park in February 1991.

The 34-year-old had been severely beaten and her handbag was missing. She was partially clothed and may have been sexually assaulted. Her body was found by a dog walker in Telegraph Hill Park, Brockley, but she was only identified a month later following an appeal on the BBC's Crimewatch programme.

Also - BBC Report

Too sedated to save his friend

A DRUG user was unable to save his friend's life because he had taken too much valium, an inquest heard. Darren Andrews, of Sportsbank Street, Catford, looked on as heroin addict Frankie Robinson, aged 28, died in his sleep on January 22.

Southwark Coroners Court heard how Mr Andrews feared Mr Robinson, of Ardoch Road, Catford, "didn't look right" as he lay crashed out on his sofa.

Water company’s £10m plans to prevent leaks

WATER leaks in the area could be reduced with a £10m scheme to replace Victorian pipes. Thames Water has started to replace 14 miles of ageing water mains in Deptford as part of a scheme to remove London's oldest and leakiest water pipes.

And the old cast iron pipes, many dating back to Victorian times, will be replaced with plastic mains. The work, which is due to be completed by March 2008, will cover the following roads: Deptford High Street; Amersham Vale; Deptford Church Street; Brookmill Road, and parts of New Cross Road and Creek Road.

Allotments saved from development

Plotholders at St Norbert's Allotments in Brockley were facing eviction because landowner UGS Properties wanted to build on the site. But now UGS has performed a U-turn by allowing the allotment holders to carry on digging at the 75-year-old site. Residents had campaigned vigorously to save the allotments in St Norbert Road, by collecting a 600-signature petition.

Escort girl raped by evil sex beast

A VIOLENT sex predator who walked free from court nine months ago after he was cleared of chasing two prostitutes out of a third-floor window has been jailed for rape.

Timothy Hjertum, of Deptford Broadway, Deptford, was cleared by an Old Bailey jury of causing the massage parlour hostesses to jump 40ft from his window.

‘Major works’ will improve buildings

RESIDENTS say the closure of three flagship buildings proves multi-million pound improvements are "much-needed". In recent weeks Forest Hill's library and swimming baths have closed along with the Louise House building, which has been empty for six months.

Now Lewisham Council has reiterated its promise to bring the buildings back into use and return the facilities to the people of Forest Hill.

Lewisham in London

A nice big postcode map so you can see where the neighbours are!

18 April 2006

You thought I'd quit! (So did I ;)

Yobs get free pass to cause trouble

FREE public transport is to blame for yobs, according to a Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator. Bus travel is free to under-16s under Mayor Ken Livingstone's scheme and children can also get on trains from areas such as Lewisham, Sydenham and Hayes.

Mr Verrinder said: "Ken Livingstone issued travelling passes to kids so they can stay out all night."

The evil butcher

Evil Belfast man John McGrady - who has a horrifying history of sex attacks on girls - last week admitted strangling 15-year-old Rochelle Holness and chopping her body into nine pieces after snatching her from a south London street. McGrady, 48, placed the girl's body parts in bin bags and wheeled them in a shopping trolley to a rubbish chute in the block of flats where he lived in Catford.

Rochelle's heartbroken parents last night branded the killer "inhuman".

Also Local London ; The Sun

Wallace determined to finish his own long, hard road

Danny Wallace used to play for Manchester United; now he is training for next Sunday's London Marathon. Slowly, often painfully, always precariously. He falls over, regularly in the street. Jen, his wife and training partner: the one who hauls him to his feet when he collapses. The one who has pretty much been hauling him to his feet since they met at a park in Deptford, south London, both aged 14.

Brockley Drug Raid

POLICE officers felt the heat as they weeded out a cannabis factory.

Officers from Brockley safer neighbourhood team raided the drug den in Malpas Road, Brockley, after noticing "enormous" amounts of heat coming from the property. Around 400 cannabis plants were seized and the factory was closed down following the raid on April 7.

10 April 2006

Man accused of murder shot dead

Andrew Wanoghu, 26, died in Brockley, south-east London, on Saturday, when he was shot in the back and heart. Almost two years ago he had been due to stand trial for shooting Damien Cope, 22, outside Browns nightclub in Holborn, central London, in July 2002.

Mr Wanoghu walked free when the case was dropped and Lucy Cope then set up Mothers Against Guns. Mr Wanoghu, of Deptford, south-east London, was found after reports of a shooting in Pendrell Road at about 0130 BST. He had been shot in the back and heart.

Kitchen hanging tragedy

A "HAPPY-GO-LUCKY" taxi driver hanged himself from a kitchen cupboard just as he appeared to have got his life back on track, an inquest heard today. Ray Chapman, 47, was discovered by his flatmate in the early hours of January 3 - two days after he had seen in the new year with his young children.
He had overcome an addiction to drugs, secured a job as a cab driver and seemed happy before he died, Southwark Coroner's Court heard on Wednesday. Mr Chapman was discovered hanging from by an electric cable at his home in Mercator Road, Lewisham.

Eyesore transformed at railway station

Contractor Homegrown Timber (Rail) Ltd has already cleared the site of scrub and a mass of accumulated rubbish that has made the site in Brockley such an eyesore over the years.

Among the litter were hundreds of bottles, which will be recycled. The company is working to a plan put forward by Brockley Cross Action Group (BXAG), which is made up of people who want to turn the land into Brockley Common.

The clearance has altered the look of the site already and contractors are planting a variety of native shrubs and trees, such as hawthorn, hazel and rowan, to encourage wildlife.