Shepherd's Bush Police report - 115 rocks of crack seized, and a robber with socks

Operation Target, the London-wide crackdown on criminality, has continued unabated in W12 and here is a snapshot of what the rozzers have been getting up to in Shepherd's Bush in the last month. Following my night with the team a couple of weeks ago I can confirm this update provides both an insight into how needed they are, but also just how bizarre their encounters can sometimes be:

Burglary

PCSO's have been handing out Crime Prevention leaflets and encouraging local residents to be more vigilant.

On 2nd July police received a call to a male acting suspiciously in a side street. Officers from Shepherds Bush Green SNT responded to the call. On arrival the suspect tried to decamp but was detained by police after putting up a violent struggle. He was searched and found to have two screwdrivers, a pair of pliers and had socks covering both his hands. The suspect was arrested for Going Equipped to Steal but local enquiries by another officer found a nearby premises that had been broken into and this male was also arrested for Burglary.

Violent Crime

The team have identified that a high volume of alcohol related violent crime was taking place around Shepherds Bush Green. On 27th June a known troublemaker was arrested for a public order/alcohol related offence. He was placed before West London Magistrates Court the following day who saw fit to approve a two years Anti Social Behaviour Order banning him from coming within 50 metres of Shepherds Bush Green for a period of 2 years.

Overall Team Results from 6th June to 3rd July

• 189 stop and searches
• 53 arrests
• 378 alcohol seizures
• 115 rocks of crack cocaine recovered
• 35 bags of cannabis recovered
• £5000 in counterfeit goods recovered
• 500 litres of contraband alcohol recovered
• 5 kilogram's of contraband tobacco recovered
• 1 firearm recovered
• Numerous other items of property used in the commission of offences have also been recovered

motorcyclist/car accident opposite W12 Centre

Breaking: more sad news of yet another road accident, this time involving a motorcyclist and a car. Details sketchy but coming in primarily by readers, so keep them coming. Have asked Police for a report.

So far one of you has told me:

"I rode past it on my bike just as ambulances arrived on scene; rider was down but seemingly conscious and stable".

Use the comments for more updates as and when in the normal way...

1030 UPDATE - The Police have confirmed to me that the rider is a woman and that she is basically OK. Here's what a spokeswoman had to say:

Police were called by the London Ambulance Service at 09:28hrs to reports of a collision along the Uxbridge Road j/w Southern Roundabout, W12.

Female being treated for shock.

No Arrests.

Hammersmith cyclist who was run over blogs about experience

Alex Ingram, a local blogger from Hammersmith who was run over yesterday by two lads on a moped being chased by the police, has decided to offer us all a glimpse into what being a victim is all about. He was busily tweeting from his hospital bed in the hours after the incident and has reproduced all of his tweets in one place so you can read them as a story - he's called it "getting run over on Twitter".

Alex's experience raises serious questions both about why he was run over and whether the police were really taking the right level of risk by chasing this moped around Hammersmith roundabout, albeit without their lights on as Alex tells me, but he also makes the very valid point that there are a lot of other dangerous drivers out there, both legal and illegal.

Which is why the lot of a cyclist is always going to be a precarious one so long as we do not have proper bicycle lanes as they do on the continent, not these ridiculous blue stripes that don't even cover much of west London anyway. For the time being this blog will carry on asking for the installation of Trixi mirrors and the re-hashing of accident blackspots in the Bush, like the Uxbridge/Askew Road junction in the hope that we don't have any more cyclist deaths like this one in Hammersmith just months ago.

Credit to Alex for sharing his experiences with us. And best wishes from all of us.

1100 UPDATE - in a bizarre twist of fate the moped that ran over Alex was actually stolen from the boss of another of this blog's readers! 

Askew Road/Uxbridge Road car crash

A car smash with a van took place on the super-dangerous Askew/Uxbridge Road junction yesterday evening on the same day that several of you warned that it was an accident waiting to happen, in response to my story about the Brook Green car accident earlier this week.

A reader who saw the accident wrote in yesterday to me to report this: 

"there were a number of emergency vehicles near the Askew Road/Uxbridge Road junction which one commenter on your blog earlier branded "an accident waiting to happen". Someone is telepathic. I'm not sure what was going on, but I overheard a police officers telling a number of male youths that they would have to wait whilst their friend was examined because he had suffered "head injuries". 

At the side of the road was a transit-style van (not sure if it was a transit or not), a BMW, two police vans, one police car, an ambulance and a paramedic car. The ambulance had arrived about 60 seconds before me (it passed the bus I was on) however the injured individual had already been bundled into the ambulance (suggesting he was walking wounded). 

Neither the van or the car appeared to have suffered any damage, so it is unlikely that it was a collision between the two vehicles - although it clearly was something a little more serious given the heavy police response. I can only imagine that someone had either been knocked down or attacked"?

I have spoken to the Police this morning who have given me the details of the incident, which is as follows:

Police were called at 19:00hrs by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) at 19:00hrs to reports of a collision along Askew Road near the junction with the Uxbridge Road, W12.
A male casualty was taken to a West London Hospital with non life threatening or changing injuries.
No arrests.

Which is a relief. But as one of you said just yesterday about this junction:

"Talking of frustrating junctions, the Askew Road/Uxbridge Road junction really, really, really should have a right filter. Traffic turning right moves into the centre of the road then can't turn for the traffic going straight-ahead. In the end, only one or two vehicles get to turn right per phase, and by the time they cross the pedestrian crossings they're going across whilst the pedestrians are on green. Accident waiting to happen..."

And how right you were - let's not forget the time someone was dragged under a van at that junction and the number of occasions we have probably all witnessed bad driving there, in part provoked by the frustrating and ridiculous traffic system there, which provokes this sort of behaviour. 

Time to do something about it, H&F Council, before I'm reporting a fatality.

H&F Woman evicted over Tina Turner singing

Our Council has evicted a woman for belting out some of Tina Turner's best known hits and making her neighbours lives a misery whilst doing so.

And no, it's not April 1st. The Evening Standard is reporting that the woman, who lived in Riverside Gardens, Hammersmith, provoked numerous complaints to the Council from her neighbours.

Proving that the Council is tough on Tina Turner wannabes, Cllr Greg Smith thundered:

"This woman had every opportunity to pipe down and give her neighbours some peace, but she refused. Eviction is the last resort but if someone insists on making life a misery for others, we will take all necessary action."

Simply the Best.

Brook Green smash: Man arrested for drink driving

Thanks to those of you who were in touch about yesterday's car smash on Shepherd's Bush Road near Brook Green. Some of you told me you were badly shaken up by the sight of the girl who had to be cut out of the car. I'm sorry I just didn't have time to report it yesterday.

I have, however, just received this statement from the Police which confirms that the incident, contrary to how this was written up by some elements of the media, was a suspected drink drive accident. Here's what the Police have told me:

"Police were called at approximately 08:00hrs on Monday 4th July to reports of a collision along Shepherds Bush Road near the junction with Brook Green, W6.

Officers, London Ambulance Service (LAS) and London Fire Brigade (LFB) attended the scene.

A female was cut from a vehicle and taken to a West London Hospital where her condition was described with non life changing injuries.

Road Closures were lifted at about 12:44hrs.

A male was arrested and taken to Hammersmith Police Station for drink drive and has been bailed."

The main point at this stage is the euphemism "non life changing injuries" - what that means to you and I is that they didn't have to amputate. Why they don't just say that I have no idea, but I hope this update helps.

Open Doors: Tell us about your Bush

Er..that's what the guerilla artists of Open Doors would like you to do either by Twitter or via the comments section of their website. I last reported on Open Doors here, but to re-cap they describe them selves like this:

"Open Doors is a series of themed exhibitions throughout London that take inspiration from the galleries postcodes. The galleries are very kind people's homes and the artists are talented people excited by the opportunity to make relevant art by using their medium to document the lives of a local community".

Can't see much wrong with that and they seem like interesting people, their current gallery is on Galloway Road W12. So give it a go and see what this excerise comes up with! 

Hammersmith Hospital mixes up bodies - families bury strangers

The BBC is reporting a horrendous mix up by the mortuary at Hammersmith Hospital on Du Cane Road East Acton which resulted in two families receiving the wrong bodies of people that had recently died there. One family ended burying the wrong man who had to be exhumed.

As screw ups go, you have to admit this one sits in the "X-Large" category. Muppets.

Brawl on Shepherd's Bush Green

Some of you have been in touch about a brawl involving men with bats and spades whacking each other on the Green on Saturday morning. One man was reported to be badly hurt while another was preventing passers by from intervening to help the casualty by threatening them with a spade.

All accounts report the injured man and at least one of his attackers being bloodied.

I have put in a call to the Police but in the meantime if you know anymore use the comments in the usual way...

0515 TUESDAY UPDATE - It appears three men have been charged following the violence but the police press office is being incredibly slow again, more to come ...

0830 UPDATE TUESDAY - At last we have the run down - here's what a spokeswoman from the Police has just told me, starting with details of the three men that have been charged following the violence:

Daniel Browne, 8.1.84 of Thorpebank Rd, W12
Charged with GBH with intent and violent disorder.

Mark Murphy, 26.6.82 of Wayneflete Square, W10
Charged with GBH with intent and violent disorder.

Mark Joseph, 8.8.72 of Shepherds Bush Road,W6
Charged with GBH with intent and violent disorder.

All three appeared at West London Magistrates Court Monday 4 July where Murphy and Browne were remanded in custody and Joseph was released on court bail.

They are all due to next appear at Inner London Crown court on 22 September at 0930.