During September two residents – one aged 87 and another aged 72 – lost a total of more than £8,000 after their cards were collected and then used to make withdrawals and purchases
Sutton Police are concerned that the ‘bank courier’ fraud seems to have returned to our borough. The scam involves residents, mostly elderly, being contacted at their home by telephone from a caller pretending to be from their bank. The caller will say that there is some kind of problem with their bank cards. The resident is asked for their PIN number and told that a ‘courier’ will come around to collect their old bank cards before new cards can be issued.
During September two residents – one aged 87 and another aged 72 – lost a total of more than £8,000 after their cards were collected and then used to make withdrawals and purchases
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A new phone number has been launched to report power outages to electricity network operators. The new service allows those who are experiencing disruption to their power supply to report power cuts by calling 105 free of charge, or visiting the website powercut105.com. The service, jointly funded by the electricity network operators who maintain Britain’s overhead cables and underground lines, is launched this month.
Power cuts are often caused by damage to power infrastructure in bad weather. This service will allow homes and businesses to report problems or safety concerns with damaged electricity infrastructure. The service also aims to make it easy to contact the network operator, as many individuals call electricity providers rather than the appropriate services. A global centre for cancer research and treatment based in south London is a step closer to becoming a reality after Sutton councillors endorsed plans for its development in the borough. Sutton Council’s Housing, Economy and Business Committee has approved the Development Framework for The London Cancer Hub, which aims ultimately to become the world’s leading life-science campus specialising in cancer research, treatment, education and enterprise. The London Cancer Hub is a partnership between the London Borough of Sutton and The Institute for Cancer Research, London, with supporting partners The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, the Greater London Authority and Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. Caption: This plan illustrates how The London Cancer Hub could look in 20 years time. The site is well connected and easy to move around. There exists a well-integrated mix of academic, business and clinical activities. Within the site there are several new focal points where neighbourhood amenities are located. Three men who fitted a card jamming device and camera to an external bank ATM machine in Sutton Town Centre stole a total of £4,400 pounds in just two hours – but were caught red-handed by the Sutton borough’s CCTV system.
Nadarajah Nanthakumar, aged 34, Kisok Thavarajah, aged 25, and Jahamithra Visvanathan, aged 25, had fitted two devices to the cash machine at Barclays, High Street, Sutton. One was a ‘Lebanese loop’ device designed to prevent bank cards from coming out of the machine and the other was an iPod Nano to record victims keying in their PIN. Two women on their way to work on Friday, 13 November 2015 stopped at the ATM between 07:35-07:45hrs to check the balance on their accounts. When they came to use the machine, they found they were unable to retrieve their cards and believed the machine had swallowed them. They both continued to work to return to the bank later that morning to report what had happened only to be informed that a total of £4,400 had been stolen from their accounts - most of their money withdrawn from Barclays in Alexandra Road, Wimbledon. However, the suspects hadn’t reckoned with Sutton borough’s CCTV cameras – and the persistence of the officers determined to bring the culprits to justice. Sutton Central PC Colin Farmer, who led the investigation, used the CCTV system to identify a BMW car which he suspected of being connected to the fraud. It was through this vehicle that a number of suspects were identified. Building a case to put before the Courts involved PC Farmer trawling through many hours of CCTV footage to track the suspects on foot near the Cock & Bull pub in Sutton Town Centre and in their vehicle as it drove away from Sutton Town Centre on the 13 November as they made their way to withdraw the money in Wimbledon. At Croydon Crown Court on Friday, 23 September, all three were sentenced after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud. Nanthakumar (16.03.1982), of Edgehill Road, Mitcham, and Thavarajah (07.05.1991), of Brixton Road, Lambeth, were sentenced to ten and eight months’ imprisonment respectively. Visvanathan (23.11.1990), of Dalton Avenue, Mitcham, received four months’ imprisonment suspended for two years. Carshalton and Wallington MP Tom Brake urged Southern to put the safety of commuters first and finish the works in the tunnel at Carshalton Station immediately. In a letter to Southern, Tom expressed his frustration at the delay in completing the works and the safety of rail users at this station. Tom Brake said: ‘‘Part of the tunnel at Carshalton station has had a barrier for weeks and the space for rail users to circulate seems to be getting narrower and narrower by the day.’’ ‘‘There doesn’t seem to be any sense of urgency from Southern, but it’s time for them to get their act together and fix this mess.’’ Sutton Council is encouraging residents to play their part in keeping borough streets cleaner – and local charities and good causes will benefit by their doing do.
The council is taking part in an anti-littering project that was launched this week in four areas across England. It has joined forces with the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy and The Wrigley Company in a bid to keep the streets of Sutton cleaner. Carshalton High Street and Westmead Road are taking part in the three-month project, where litter bins will be transformed into charity collection pots, featuring a different charity each month. The three charities are The National Autistic Society (Sutton branch), Sutton ShopMobility and St Raphael’s Hospice. A sensory garden that provides sensory and interactive learning and play opportunities for children and young people with special needs has opened in the London Borough of Sutton. The Discovery Forest is in the grounds of Sherwood Park, a school in Wallington for pupils aged between three and 19 who have Severe Learning Needs (SLD), Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD), and are on the Autistic Spectrum (ASD) and Complex Needs. Caption: BBC sports commentator John Inverdale, who is Honorary President of Wooden Spoon Surrey, officially opened the Discovery Forest at Sherwood Park School in Wallington Jumble Trail is coming to Sutton for the first time on Saturday 1 October, with the support of Recycle for London, the South London Waste Partnership and Sutton Council. Residents who live in the Benhilton area are encouraged to clear out their cupboards and set up stall in their front gardens. As the saying goes, ‘one man’s junk is another man’s treasure’. Police are appealing for information about the whereabouts of Amanda Heyden, aged 43, who went missing from her assisted accommodation in Woodcote Road, Wallington, overnight.
Amanda was last seen in her accommodation at 21:00hrs on Monday, 26 September and was reported missing at 06:00hrs on Tuesday, 27 September. She was last seen outside B&Q in Carshalton Road at 06:50hrs. Amanda is described as white, 5ft 4in tall, of slim build with dark bobbed hair with grey streaks. She was last seen wearing a brown check jacket, a ‘Michael Jackson’ T-shirt and a chunky woolly hat and carrying a pink teddy bear. If you have any information, contact Sutton Police station on 101. |
Is your child two or going to be two in the next school year? They may be eligible for up to 15 hours of free weekly childcare!
*The scheme is available to Sutton residents who earn less than £16,190, receive Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit, Income Support, or other benefits, from the term after a child's second birthday, thanks to funding from the government. The free childcare can be provided by nurseries, childminders, pre-schools or playgroups. For more information visit www.sutton.gov.uk/familyinfo or contact the Sutton Family Information Service on 020 8770 6000 or [email protected]. Archives
October 2016
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