A firefighter in his first week on the job played a vital part in rescuing a family, including three children, when they were trapped in a second-floor flat in Norbury after an e-bike battery exploded on the ground floor.
Baptism of fire: Firefighter Zekel Johnson put his training to good effect at the blaze in Norbury
The fire broke out in a communal hallway in a building on London Road, where there are flats above shops on the ground floor.
Crews from Norbury Fire Station arrived just two minutes after the first 999 call, and immediately set about tackling the fire. Shortly after arrival, a group of people appeared at a window, screaming for help.
The crew began preparing a ladder rescue, using a 45-foot ladder.
Firefighter Zekel Johnson was soon on the scene with his crew from West Norwood. Continue reading
When I visited recently, I was escorted by curator Paul Hall through the front two rooms and into the back where the atmospheric watercolours of Sue McGonigle were on display under the sub-heading Hidden Spaces. They filled the room with images of wintry light, particularly light on water, very English landscapes. Stress relief indeed. 
In this week of solemn remembrance and memorial, our latest episode of the Croydon Insider hears from readers whose own relatives were killed in some of the worst battles of World War I.
The rapid turnover among senior staff at Fisher’s Folly suggests that the ‘leadership issues’ which were in-part responsible for Commissioners being sent in to run Croydon Council may continue to be a problem for those left behind after Katherine Kerswell’s abrupt exit
The mosaic is the work of 
There’s supposed to be regular Safer Neighbourhood Board meetings held in every borough in London, paid for with public money from MOPAC, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, and supported with organisational services provided by the local council.
A classic whodunnit with a smattering of laughs comes to Selsdon Hall next week, when CODA, the Croydon Operatic and Dramatic Association, revives one of Queen of Crime Agatha Christie’s thrillers, Spider’s Web.
