Time 107.5 articles

Time 107.5’s online news output is all on a single page, meaning individual articles can’t be linked. Below is the text of all articles I wrote during my time there.

5th April 2010

Careless motorists who leave valuable items on display in their vehicles will soon be getting crime-fighting information packs in the post. Chadwell Heath police will be looking out for parked vehicles with valuables and gadgets like sat navs clearly visible, tracing the owners, and sending them the packs. It comes after a 12 per cent increase in thefts from cars last year. The scheme should be up and running in the next few weeks.

Firefighters across London have had their uniforms updated. The new blue-style safety gear replaces the old equipment which was introduced in 1999, and uses the latest technology to be safe, light and comfortable. The kit’s being supplied by Bristol Uniforms to meet the high standards of the London Fire Brigade for the men and women it employs.

2nd April 2010

Thurrock residents who have been having trouble sleeping because of noise nuisances can now get the council to deal with the problem The council have launched a dedicated team of officers who will be on call every weekend. They’ll be able to investigate complaints to see if action needs to be taken.

People living in Barking and Dagenham are being asked to be vigilant against scrap metal thieves operating in the borough. Criminals have been stealing items including copper pipes, guttering and even street signs. It’s due to the recession causing opportunists to turn to crime, combined with metal prices being high. Residents who see anything suspicious should call the police immediately on 0300 – 123 – 1212.

Havering Council’s received a government grant of 373 thousand pounds. It’s from the Local Authority Business Growth Incentives scheme, rewarding councils where business has grown in the last year. The FSB’s created a manifesto for Havering Council detailing its ideas.

1st April 2010

The Chief Executive of Essex County Council is among 31 council officials across the UK who earn more than the Prime Minister. Figures collated by the Tax Payers alliance also show that Chief Executives of the Three councils in our area are earning up to 93 pounds an hour. Havering’s Cheryl Coppell earned 163 thousand last year, Barking and Dagenham Cheif Rob Whiteman made over 190 thousand – including nearly 1 and a half thousand pounds in travel expenses. Redbridge failed to provide a figure for Roger Hampson’s salary.

30th March 2010

A fifth man’s been charged in connection with the kidnapping of a man whose severed thumb was found in Ilford. Mahmood Ahmad has been missing for over 3 weeks since disapearing after leaving work on March 7th. 36-year-old Amirzada Hussain from Upton Park has been charged with conspiracy to falsely imprison. Four others from East London have previously been charged.

Two teenagers from Ilford are being sentenced today for robbing a security guard. The boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted stealing a cash box holding £25,000. It happened on January 10th outside a Barclay’s Bank in the town of Sandy in Bedfordshire. The two youths – aged 14 and 16 – will appear before Luton Crown Court today.

Redbridge Homes has been awarded two stars for good service from an Audit Commission inspection. The recognition means the council and Redbridge Homes are now on the Decent Homes programme for 2011. This guarantees a share of future funding – possibly up to £39million.

A surgeon employed by the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University NHS Trust is facing a hearing to decide if he can practise again. Gideon Lauffer was sacked last June when colleagues lost confidence in him amid allegations of mistakes in his surgery. The General Medical Council had suspended him but the Trust were forced to continue to pay him due to clerical errors on its part. The hearing is expected to begin on June 14th.

Redbridge Police have handled 20 dangerous dog offences in the borough over the last year. It’s after an increase in people owning illegal dog breeds. The Metropolitan Police have had to set up a special Status Dogs Unit. The most recent was last month, when police stepped in to stop a dog fight in Valetines Park in Ilford, leading to an illegal pit-bull type dog being taken by officers.

29th March 2010

A person who was shot in Ilford Lane disappeared before paramedics could get to the scene. It happened on Thursday but when ambulance workers arrived at the scene they only treated two women who said they weren’t involved in the shooting. Police are investigating what happened.

There are calls to ban companies automatically rolling over contracts for things like gas, water or electricity. The Essex Federation of Small Businesses says many companies here are caught out because utility providers often roll over their contracts when they come to an end – often with higher charges too and without asking customers first. Business are then tied into another year’s contract even if they didn’t give their permission.

Nine students from Barking and Dagenham have been to Poland to learn about the Holocaust. They visited the Auschwitz concentration camp and met survivors while keeping a personal log to reflect on their visit.

Schoolchildren in Thurrock have been given pedometers in an effort to get them fit. The 8-, 9- and 10-year-olds from several schools in the area were asked to record how many steps they took each day as part of an NHS scheme to improve the youngsters’ fitness.

26th March 2010

A Dagenham woman has been sentenced to 200 hours community service at Snaresbrook Crown Court for nearly £4,000 of benefit fraud. 42-year-old Vicky Robinson, of Downing Road, told the Department of Work and Pensions that she was a single parent and claimed for housing, income support and council tax benefits She was in fact living with her employed partner between November 2006 and May 2008. She was ordered to pay £1,325 costs as well as repaying the benefits.

An extra £270,000 is being spent repairing potholes across Havering. The near 50% increase in funding has been announced as the state of the borough’s roads deteriates. The worst weather conditions in 30 years have damaged local roads – with potholes proving a danger for the public.

Redbridge councillors are freezing their annual allowances. Members were due for a pay rise in line with inflation, but decided to turn it down. Councillors from all parties agreed it was the right thing to do in light of the continuing economic downturn.

25th March 2010

Police are appealing for witnesses after a racist attack in Ilford. It happened in the late afternoon on February 19th – the victim was punched in the face and head in the attack on Ilford Lane. The suspect left the victim shaken after he was racially abused The suspect is described as being Asian and around 6ft tall. He drove a white Volkswagen Polo.

24th March 2010

Plans for an academy to train workers building the Crossrail rail link have been helped by 5 million pounds from the Learning and Skills Council. It’s hoped three thousand people will study NVQ and healthy and safety courses at the tunneling academy by 2015. The Crossrail project itself is set to open in 2017, and will run from Maidenhead and Heathrow to Shenfield and Abbey Wood, through Ilford, Goodmayes, Chadwell Heath and Seven Kings.

A landlady from Hornchurch is helping children ophaned by the Tsunami in Thailand – and children in Essex. Angie Barclay manages the Ardleigh & Dragon, a Thai-themed pub. Customers have donated money and toys since January. Half of the donations are for children living in the Baan Tharn Namchai orphanage in Khao Lak, Thailand The rest will go to local charity KidsOut, for children afffected by domestic violence.

23rd March 2010

A man from Redbridge is the latest to appear in court following a shooting in Lancashire. 23-year-old Uwais Ilyas from Colombo Road in Ilford appeared before Preston Crown Court yesterday charged with conspiracy to murder. Ilyas is the fourth person to be charged with the incident which happened in Preston on February 12th. 25-year-old Manjit Sandhu from Hornchurch and 18-year-old Kasha Hayes are two of the others charged.

Havering Council built only 45 per cent of the affordable housing needed in the last year. The figures from the charity Shelter ranked Havering 40th out of 321 English local authorities. They say 875 affordable homes need to be built each year in the borough – curently less than 400 are being built annually.

Shoppers on Chadwell Heath high road will feel safer in the next few months thanks to a £1.3million investment. Barking and Dagenham Council also received £40,000 from the Home Office. The money’s being used to replace and upgrade CCTV cameras, give shopkeepers counterfeit note detection systems, and to improve the look of the area. Similar work is being planned for roads across Dagenham.