Hackney father appeals over paralysed son's shooting

The father of a teenager paralysed in a shooting incident has joined investigating officers to urge witnesses to come forward.

Speaking from his son's hospital bedside Paul Smith said he knew people had information about those who shot and injured Raphael Smith, but couldn't understand why they had not spoken to police.

Raphael, aged 18, had been socialising with friends at a community centre in Shellness Road, E5, on 17 December 2008, when a group of youths burst in and fired shots.

The student was struck along with his 17-year-old friend. Both were taken to hospital and whilst his friend was later discharged to recover at home Raphael's condition deteriorated.

He suffered severe brain damage and is currently paralysed from the neck down.

Mr Smith said: "At first I was relieved to hear Raphael had survived but we had no idea how badly injured he was. He relies on a machine to breath and remains in a coma. We have visited the hospital every day since this happened and had to celebrate Christmas and Raphael's 18th birthday at his bedside.

"Raphael was so popular with so many friends. He loved his music and was hoping to train as a plumber soon. It's all been taken away and the whole family are devastated."

Raphael's father, who works for Hackney Borough Council and has another son and two daughters, said the local community should work together to ensure justice for Raphael and his friend.

Anyone who can assist is asked to call the team on 020 8217 7377; if you wish to remain anonymous contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Crazy snow fall shows loopholes

The heavy snow has come and gone (hopefully) and, besides reminding some of us that we do need to get a pair of wellies, it caught local authorities with their pants down.

Borough councils were unable to carry out their usual waste collections because of the conditions of the roads, and there have been complaints about rubbish piling up.

Last week, Newham Council, for example, told residents that their rubbish would be collected a week later.

Then there is the issue of gritting – or lack of it rather. Newham Council confirmed reports that local authorities were caught unprepared by the snow when it said in a statement: “As you may be aware through publicity in the media, there is an issue about the availability and supply of salt/grit both locally and nationally.”
Perhaps, the next time a disaster strikes, they’ll be better prepared?

Teenager killed in Plaistow charity event

Steven Lewis (15) was killed in Plaistow this weekend. This is the area where teenager Adam Regis was murdered.

Last year 28 teenagers were killed in violent deaths in London. The Met say Steven was the first violent teenage death this year. We hope it will be the last.

BBC London says a 15-year-old girl, who did not want to be named, said the stabbing followed a row at a fund-raising event at the church hall attended by about 100 people.

Apparently the party was brought to an end at 22:30 pm after a fight broke out. She said: "I saw pushing and arms swinging around. Then the bouncers came in and said the party has been knocked off.

"I was expecting a fight but I wasn't expecting anyone to get stabbed. There is always a fight, that is why I left early."

Patience is needed as we await Crossrail’s arrival

The reality of travelling on less crowded trains may be far off, but TFL seems to be working on it however slowly it might appear.

We are told that preparatory work on the new Crossrail starts this month. When it opens in 2017 it will run from Heathrow to Stratford, Shenfield and also Abbey Wood. It’s expected to increase London’s public transport network capacity by 10 per cent.

So rest assured that, although you might have to wait until 2017 to get a seat on your way to work during peak times, something is being done about it.

For those who fly more often, it may not come as a surprise that Heathrow and Gatwick reported a drop in the number of passengers over the year. One passenger said the long queues and poor customer services explain why. This news comes as our Docklands-based London City Airport came out smiling with its figures.

It says it saw a 12 per cent rise in passenger numbers in 2008 with over 3 million people travelling through. In spite of the current economic and financial challenges, December still showed a 10 per cent growth in passengers on the previous year.

But it’s boss Richard Gooding is trying not to appear over-exited about its performance. He said: “We remain cautious about 2009’s prospects until stability returns to the financial services industry and the wider economy.”

Hospital warned over hygiene flaws

It’s been a tricky start to 2009 for staff at Homerton University Hospital – they’ve just been slapped with a serious warning to improve their hygiene standards.

This week the Hackney-based hospital admitted that the Healthcare Commission dropped by unannounced and were not impressed.

As a result of the flaws the visit exposed, the hospital says it has created a new team whose priority is to have the improvement notice lifted by the end of this month.

One of the concerns raised was that dirty bed pans were found in a ward and commodes had not been fully cleaned.

While this sloppiness in this ward might disappear within a month, the core issue, surely, is whether the staff are fully trained and being properly supervised?

Not so. The hospital has also had to explain that it does not have good records to show that people have had training; a number of planned audits were not completed.

On the positive side, the cleaners probably have the fateful HC visit to thank because there will now be a new electronic system for recording training.

2008... what a year for East London!

2008 was an eventful package this side of London.

One of the main issues challenging us is crime. Of the 23 London teenagers that died because of stab wounds in 2008, we lost Nabil Bakurally from Ilford and also Charles Junior Hendricks from Walthamstow.

It was interesting to see the local community and police work closely to tackle the problem of teenage violence. In Stoke Newington, for example, every night residents were complaining to the police about troublsome teenagers who were causing trouble on the estates in the area. The boys covered their faces with bandanas when they striked. As a result, the police slapped a ban in the area, barring youngsters from wearing bandanas.

The fight against other types of crime was also stepped up. In Barking and Dagenham, the local council introduced talking CCTV cameras and in Tower Hamlets, in an attempt to reduce prostitution in the area, the local council had a crackdown on kerb crawlers. For the first time, culprits were offered the opporutnity to attend a Change Course instead of appearing in court. The course, paid for by kerb crawlers themselves, taught men about the women they seek out and how it affects their girlfriends or wives.

Parts of East London are still grapling with high poverty. This year the End Child Poverty report stated that almost half the children living in parts of East London (like Bethnal Green, Bow and Barking) come from families where the parents are not in a job and are living on benefits. As a result, many of the children have a grim childhood. The credit crunch has not helped matters, with some families falling prey to loan sharks. It was welcome news then when the East London-based charity Quaker Social Action, won the top prize at the Charity Awards in July for their projects to help poor families in the area.

On the sport front, there were more messy issues uncovered around the 2012 Olympics money pot; the latest being that the government might fail to get businesses to fund the International Broadcast and Media centre, which is a key 2012 site. But fear not, the games will take place.

On the people front, Stratford-based sprinter Christine Ohurugu roped a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics and did us all proud. Ray Lewis came to the light as Boris Johnson’s deputy youth mayor. As founder of the Eastside Young Learning Academy, it was said he had enough clout to tackle the capital’s youth crime, especially in the black commnity. However, he resigned in July. Boris was quoted in the Telegraph newspaper saying that the allegations surrounding Lewis's resignation did not stop him “found a school that has done untold good for East London children and they should not stop him from serving as my deputy mayor.”

There’s no ommiting Hackney lass Leona Lewis. The X Factor star received three Grammy nominations for the 51st Grammy Awards this month. Her record Bleeding Love was nominated for Record of the Year, as well as Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

And now for 2009 … what’s in store for us?

Upton Park woman returns after forced marriage drama

The recently enforced Forced Marriage Act is already proving to be useful to communities in this part of London.