Concern for mother and missing girls

A family is being sought by the police after they were reported as missing.

The mother and her five daughters left Sunderland in May and are believed to have come to London before moving elsewhere.

The Hackney Gazette says the family (pictured) were in Shoreditch, Hackney, in June.

Mick McCracken of Sunderland City Council, said: "They appear to have been moving around the country without any means of support, we don't know whether the girls have been at school or if they have any unmet medical or other needs. We all want to know that [they] are safe and well."

If you’ve spotted this family, please call the Missing People charity on 0500 700 700or the police on 0800 555 111.

Teenager slain on Ilford High Street

Only a few weeks ago I mentioned that Ilford is becoming less safe (see Mon 13.10.08).

For now just walking on the High Road might cause some to shudder, such as the friends of the teenager Nabil Bakurally (19) who was stabbed to death there this weekend.

Nabil (pictured) is the 28th teenager to have died in a violent incidence in London this year. The Evening Standard says he was killed in a suspected row with a group of rival Asian men in the area, adding that that tensions between Mauritian and Indian teenagers in the area have been high for weeks and Nabil may have inadvertently been drawn into the feud.

If this is true, are these particular Indian v Mauritian ‘gang’ problems known to the police and what is the Asian community in Ilford doing to diffuse them?

Why wait for someone to be murdered for the problem to be brought to the surface?

A Barking meltdown

Those people in Barking and Dagenham who made their way to this year’s Molten Festival were enthralled this weekend by the fireworks display. The annual celebration also includes music, art and other outdoor activities.

West Ham fans and the East end

Last night I dashed off to a shop in Upton Park only to find it was closed. As ususal, the traffic on Green Street was something else. The many West Ham fans who spilled onto the narrow pavement didn’t help matters.

But I can’t complain … West Ham is very much a part of East London, as seen on this clip above made by a fan.

Acting the part

And now, time for some serious play. Budding actors are being offered the chance to get cracking on their talent with the help of profressionals.

Hackney Empire is running a free perfomance workshop for teenagers who want to bring out their best in different aspects of performance and theatre. At the end of the week, they will perform in a show in front of an audience.

Call 0208 510 4507 to be part of the action.

Just how safe are Ilford’s streets?

It's getting more dangerous to walk around Ilford at night – some have said even in the afternoon one needs to be careful.

The place is the bedrock of Redbridge, with its busy shopping mall, banks and several companies operating from here. It also has several pubs and bars, and it was just outside one such joint, the Blue Ice bar, that a man was shot.

This week the police said they are offering a reward of £20 000 for imformation leading to the arrest of the person who murdered Syed Mehdi (pictured).

It is believed the suspect, described as a black male, approached Syed on foot before firing shots from a handgun. He made off in a direction unknown.

I lived in Ilford a while ago; back then you could walk around at night and not expect anything dangerous.

I did not mention that the area also has a large police station? I’d like to think the officers are working on making Ilford as safe as it used to be – or almost.

Parents of poor kids not getting work

Almost half the children livng in parts of East London come from families where the parents are not in a job and are living on benefits.

According to the recently published End Child Poverty report, areas like Bethnal Green, Bow and Barking rank high on the London list. The impact for the children is that many of them have a grim chidlhood.

There is a possibility that these children, in addition to the difficulties they face in their young lives, may grow up with no role models to inspire them to get out of the gutter and get a good job.

As to why these parents are not in a job is another matter, but I don’t think their situation will change anytime soon.