Local News
London Fire Brigade: one of the busiest summers ever
FIREFIGHTERS haven’t stopped all summer. Between May and August 2026, they have attended over 55,000 incidents and Control Officers have taken around 100,000 emergency calls. The number of incidents attended – 55,838 – was the highest summer total in the last five years. It was 20% higher than...
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Get ready for the Mayor’s Football Cup
ONE OF the most popular football competitions in Tower Hamlets is taking place over the weekends of 19th/20th and 26th/27th September 2026. It’s an extravaganza of exciting football playing – and a little dose of competition. It’s a little hard to track down the details, but we believe that ma...
Another recycling centre fire – this one in Leyton
YES, IT’S another one. It feels like there’s been a fire in a recycling centre every couple of weeks over the summer. The latest one happened at Argall Metal’s recycling centre in Staffa Road, Leyton, in the early morning of Tuesday, 8th September. This one came to a different kind of recyclin...
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How CCTV helps trace dangerous drivers
TOWER HAMLETS Council is overflowing with news about the achievements of its CCTV system. There has been a great deal of investment to improve the hardware (and the operators), and it seems that is now paying dividends. The latest news is that the cameras – sadly – caught a hit and run incident....
Police appeal for help as man absconds from care facility
WHERE IS Balasankar Narayanan? The 46 year old absconded while on escorted leave from a care facility in Ilford, and police are trying to find him. Mr Narayana was last seen at 2pm on Thursday, 3rd September. He was with staff in South Park and ran off. Mr Narayanan is described as having a shaved ....
CCTV tracks mobile theft suspects
IT’S A NIGHTMARE. We have so much on our phones these days and we use them so often. Sadly, we know that mobiles are all too often stolen – often by organised gangs who make a quick getaway. That’s where Tower Hamlets Council’s trusty CCTV service stepped up to the mark again. Two people sna...
Sainsbury’s recalls contaminated black olives
IT’S ANOTHER case of Listeria monocytogenes in our food. Sainsbury’s has found the dangerous bacterium in its “Inspire to Cook” range black olives – and it’s recalled the product. The affected product comes in a pack size of 120g with use by dates of 6th, 7th and 10th September. Symptoms...
How Tower Hamlets Council keeps community safe
CCTV is controversial. While some communities see it as a way for the “Big Brother” authorities to observe what all citizens are doing, others see it as a way to ensure that good people are safe and bad people are apprehended. Town Hall was an innovator in the use of CCTV. There were great advan...
Man sought after sexual assault on Tube in Barking
WHO IS this man? British Transport Police would like to speak to him in connection with an assault which took place on a District Line train arriving at Barking railway station. The incident took place at around 12.40pm on Sunday, 4th August. A woman was standing up and a man sexually assaulted her ...
New courses at Nari Women’s Centre
SEPTEMBER is back to school month – but that’s not just for children and young people. If your littles are in school now, it’s time to treat yourself after a long summer of entertaining them. Look no further than the Nari Women’s Centre in Whitechapel. They have a range of activities for wom...
Sounds on Sunday: 50 years ago – 1976-21
FIFTY YEARS AGO we were humming along to the hits of 1976. Some have magnificently stood the test of time; others have not. Join us on Memory Lane as we review them on their golden anniversaries. We are, for the second week, marking the loss of one of the greats of the 1970s. We have ... The post So...
Mayor Lutfur Rahman expands support for cost of living
ANDY BURNHAM: are you listening? While the new Prime Minister takes some modest steps towards mitigating the worst effects of the cost of living, Mayor Lutfur Rahman is striding forward in Tower Hamlets. Tower Hamlets is a borough of extremes: people on modest incomes live next to those on very high...
Look out! The runners are coming!
SUNDAY, 6TH September will see hundreds of runners take to the streets in Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich – and hundreds of visitors will be taking to the pavements to watch the runners. The event is “The Big Half”, which seems to be a spin-off from the London Marathon. Just w...
Was Rainham house fire deliberate?
A HOUSE FIRE in MacLennan Avenue, Rainham, may have been caused deliberately says the London Fire Brigade. The fire took place yesterday, Thursday, 3rd September. The Brigade’s 999 Control officers were first called at 1.55pm. Fire crews from Wennington, Dagenham and Barking fire stations brought ...
Time to apply for secondary school 2027
IF YOU HAVE a child in Year 6 (the last year of primary school) and you would like that child to go to a secondary school in Tower Hamlets next year, it is time to apply for a place. A child in Year 6 would have been born between 1st September 2015 and 31st August ... The post Time to apply for seco...
Safety first for new solar panels
THINKING OF installing plug-in solar panels in your home? It makes sense, doesn’t it? Who doesn’t want lower fuel bills? But the London Fire Brigade reminds us to follow basic safety tips – or our solar dream could be a nightmare. Traditional domestic solar panels are usually set up on a roof ...
Council takes zero-tolerance line on fly-tipping
“FLYTIPPING is a blight on our beautiful borough,” says Tower Hamlets Council – and many contributors to local WhatsApp groups and Facebook pages. Flytipping is, essentially, rubbish that is not in a bin, and the Council tells us that there is a way to deal with it. Download the Council’s Fi...
East London Mosque’s Trek was a weekend to remember
THE EAST LONDON Mosque (ELM) has reported that the annual Trek 4 Your Mosque, which took place from 7-9th August was a great success. Forty-four brothers took part in this weekend, raising over £21,300 for the ELM. The weekend was not just about fundraising. It was a chance for the brothers to step...
Tower Hamlets Council acts on ASB report
A VEHICLE parked on a pavement can be a real nuisance. It makes it more difficult for pedestrians to use the pavement – particularly those with pushchairs or wheelchairs – and it’s dangerous for road users, particularly cyclists. It’s no wonder, then, that residents and businesses in Brick L...
Disloyal Starmer knifes Labour in the back
WHETHER Keir Starmer was loyal to the Labour Party when he was Prime Minister was always in doubt. Now he has resigned as an MP, there is no more doubt. Starmer’s press statement says that he had been considering his future all summer and has now decided to resign. Crikey: if this is how long ... ...