February 2012 Archives

The mother of a 22 year-old from who was Paddington found dead at a railway station has described him as 'the backbone of our family.'

Lewis Ghessen died at Harrow and Wealdstone station on September 25, just a day before his birthday, and this week, two teenagers have appeared in front of magistrates charged with his manslaughter.

But Lewis' mother, Anne-Marie, said her life has been an 'absolute nightmare' since the young electrician died.

Staff and guests at a Bayswater hotel have helped raise nearly £2,500 for homelessness charity SleepSmart.

Since November, the Lancaster London has added a discretionary £1 charge to every guest's invoice to encourage donations, and more than 40% agreed to pay.

Every penny of the £2,478 will go directly to the charity, which provides everything from warm showers and hot meals to shoes for job interviews.

Young carers in Westminster had the chance to take a break and get creative during the half term break.

Arts charity Create organised a full day of sculpture workshops with the theme of Native American totems, for a group of 12 young carers at Westminster's volunteer centre.

The children began by learning about the meaning of totem poles, before sketching and then making their own from a large cardboard box.

Controversial changes to parking in Westminster have resulted in a drop in parking tickets being issued, according to the council.

In several areas around the borough, single yellow lines were converted to doubles after the council withdrew its plans to introduce weekend and evening parking charges in the West End.

Critics claimed those parking charges were being introduced 'by stealth' through the scrapping of single yellow lines, but the council said it was only replacing them at junctions, dropped kerbs and in narrow streets, where drivers should not be parking anyway.

Two men have been jailed for a total of six years for a number of violent robberies, including one of a £30,000 Cartier watch.

Algerians Morene Zouauoi, 29, and Samy Derras, 23, both of Artillery Place, Westminster, admitted the robbery in Sloane Street last September which saw a 26 year-old woman have her £30,000 watch ripped from her wrist.

Derras also admitted two further robberies, the first on July 28 outside Harrods, when he stole a £3,000 watch from a 28 year-old woman, and the second on September 11, when he stole a Cartier watch of the same value from a 26 year-old woman.

Community spirit was given a boost in Paddington with a 'community social' for residents and businesses.

The get together at Paddington Arts was organised by Tell It Parents Action Group and neighbouring residents who were concerned that crime in the area had caused a loss of neighbourliness.

The hunt is on for a new home for Marylebone Library after Westminster Council confirmed it would be closing its current building for refurbishment.

At the moment, the library is based in Marylebone Town Hall, but that building is due to close in 2013, with the London Business School likely to move in when it reopens.

But the council wants to keep a library in the Marylebone area and is currently looking at two sites - Luxborough Street, where the new library would form part of a larger development with housing, and Moxton Street, which is currently a vacant site used as a car park and a fortnightly farmers market.

Elderly residents are being given a helping hand to stay safe in their homes as part of a pioneering new programme.

Westminster Council environmental health officers have been carrying out 'Well at Home' visits to residents in the south of the borough, to offer advice on keeping warm, safe and healthy.

As part of a new scheme to help unemployed young people, Westminster Council is working with businesses to create 2,012 job, apprenticeship and work experience opportunities.

Around 3,000 young people are looking for work in the borough, so the council is hoping to match up opportunities with potential candidates.

A bed shop which faced demolition to make way for a Crossrail substation has been saved after a massive community campaign.

Big Table in Great Western Road leases its building from Network Rail, and had been told that Crossrail would need their entire site, including the building and back yard, to build a substation.

But campaigners, residents and councillors rallied around the store, and after months of protests, the rail firm has backtracked and will now only use the shop's yard, and not its building.