Hornchurch High Street

Hornchurch High Street has been closed this afternoon after a building appeared to be on the verge of collapsing.

Police were called to reports of a building looking unsafe on the street at 12.28pm, and fire brigade also attended the scene.
An eye witness described seeing the building above Thomson and The Wallpaper Shop as “coming out about a foot” and looking like it may fall down.
Shop workers and residents have been evacuated from the surrounding buildings. Roads have been closed off at the junctions of Station Lane and Billet Lane; North Street and High Street; and High Street and Billet Lane to stop traffic travelling down the road.
All buses are being diverted through Appleton Way.
A spokesman for the fire brigade said they only attended in an advisory capacity and left soon after.
No one has been hurt or injured.

URGENT MESSAGE FROM THE METROPOLITAN POLICE SERVICE

WELCOME TO ALERTCOMMS Police Communication to the Community ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It has come to Metropolitan Police Service in Havering attention that a significant number of our residents have received phone calls from security companies indicating that they are working with Home Office Departments and calling themselves 'Crime Preventions Services or Agencies. The language used, in many cases ,leads residents to believe they are recognised by or part of the Police Organisation .The caller offers to attend the residents home to carry out a free security survey. Some residents have also been advised that they are in entitled to a free burglar alarm or one for £1 　 Havering police DO NOT recognise any of these companies nor are we working with them to reduce burglary. From our experience this may be a method used to get into a residents home and then put pressure on the resident to purchase an expensive and possibly inadequate alarm system, with ongoing monitoring charges. 　 If as a Havering resident you are concerned about your home security we would urge you to contact your Local Safer Neighbourhood teams. All members of our teams are trained to deliver a domestic home securi ty survey free of charge and without the intention of creating a contact with them. Residents over 60 may be entitled to have their security up graded free of charge from the Havering Community Safety Partnership scheme 'Havering Safe At Home'. 　 Intruder alarms are a proven deterrent against burglary. Residents who are considering having an alarm installed should in the first instance get three companies into quote. Preferably the alarm company should be affiliated to an inspectorate body such as NSI or SSAIB, and not selected from a cold call. For further information contact your local SNT or go to 　 We would like to thank the number of residents who have contacted police to bring this matter to our attention. Together we can continue to ensure Havering remains one of the safest boroughs to live. 　 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 　www.met.police.uk/crimeprevention/index
For further information, please contact your nearest police station: Romford　Police Station Telephone: 0300 123 1212 Opening Hours: 24 hours a day

Armed Forces Day

Thousands of people lined the streets of Romford this Saturday for the annual Armed Forces Day parade through the town centre.

Thousands line streets for Armed Forces Day

Thousands of people lined the streets of Romford this Saturday for the annual Armed Forces Day parade through the town centre.

The parade was led by the Royal British Legion Band & Corps of Drums, Romford along South Street, and continued through the market before ending at Tollgate House.

Later in the day, Mayor of Havering, Councillor Melvin Wallace presented awards of meritorious service at the Town Hall to local people who had given distinguished service to the borough.

After the parade, a uniformed youth festival took place in the market with information stalls from Air Cadets and Hornchurch Drum and Trumpet Corp, charity stalls were also set up for Help for Heroes and the  Royal British Legion.

Leader of Havering Council, Councillor, Michael White said:

"On Armed Forces Day we show our appreciation of the enormous commitment of the men and women of our armed forces past, present and future. Wherever they are in the world and whatever they are doing they serve our country and represent our borough with pride. The day was a tremendous success for everyone."

Havering Mela

As the Mayor and the Deputy are both away this weekend on twin town duties, I shall be officially opening this year's Mela on Theatre Green in Hornchurch. So looking forward to some Indian food and possibly a henna tattoo???

ECPAT UK

ECPAT UK - End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking

www.facebook.com

ECPAT UK - End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking - ECPAT UK is a leading children's rights organisation campaigning against the commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. - General Information: ECPAT UK values comments both complimentary and critical on our Facebook page

Albert Road Centre PRU

Lunchtime today, I will be at the ARC Pupil Referral Unit where I am Chair of the Management Board for the annual Awards Presentations.  This is an opportunity for students to showcase their achievements for family and friends.

The Mayor of Havering, Cllr. Melvin Wallace will also be attending.

Adoption and Fostering

Yesterday I attended an all day conference on Adoption and Fostering with the Havering, Thurrock and Southend Consortium.

Topics discussed covered linking and matching in adoption, preparing foster carers to manage move of children to adoption and pathways to permanence for Black, Asian and Mixed Ethnity children.