The European Health Insurance card covers necessary medical treatment abroad

A Lewisham woman who sustained serious injuries after falling 30 feet from a balcony during a honeymoon in Greece will be able to fly home for treatment thanks to the donations of well-wishers.

Carrie-Anne Dudbridge, 27, fractured her spine in the accident, which happened on 14 August, during the holiday in Corfu with her new husband Michael, 29.

After returning from a romantic meal, Mrs Dudbridge, a primary school secretary, slipped and lost her footing on the balcony of their hotel room in Kavos.

With Mrs Dudbridge in hospital, paralysed by her injuries, the couple missed their flight back to the UK and were left stranded abroad with little money.

Language difficulties, no travel insurance cover, and the expensive special air ambulance that would be required to transport  Mrs Dudbridge home in her present condition meant that the situation seemed bleak.

The couple had believed that their European Health Insurance cards would cover any costs, but had failed to understand the terms of their coverage, which includes necessary medical treatment abroad but not repatriation.

But now, the pair will be able to return home after concerned strangers who saw their story in the British media donated more than £16,000 towards helping them.

Expressing the couple’s surprise and gratitude, Mr Dudbridge said: “We’re completely overwhelmed by the support. A huge thank you to everyone involved, and we can’t wait to thank everyone properly when we get home.”

Photo: Francesca Waite

Plans to trial extended police powers controlling drinking in the streets of Lewisham have been given the go-ahead by Lewisham Mayor Sir Steve Bullock.

The  measures will give police discretionary powers to stop people and confiscate, demand and dispose of any alcohol within the boundaries of Lewisham borough. A public consultation has now been launched, which is a legal requirement before the scheme can be introduced.

There are currenly two drinking control zones in Lewisham: The Lewisham Drinking Control Zone which extends along Lewisham High Street from Lewisham Central to Catford, and Upper Brockley Road Drinking Control Zone – implemented in April 2008.

The order, known as a Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) would extend the police powers throughout Lewisham. The order is a measure that can assist in tackling problematic street drinking linked to anti-social behaviour. Police and the council say the intention of the DPPO is to provide police with a tool to address alcohol-related disorder, not to ban public drinking.

Failure to comply with a request from the police to hand over alcohol could result in an arrest and/or a fine of up to £500.

The DPPO would be reviewed following a 6-month trial period.

Sir Steve said: “The difficult issue of anti-social behaviour brought about by street drinking needs to be tackled and the implementation of a pilot borough-wide DPPO will enable us to review its effectiveness and look at our options, once the results have been analysed at the end of the pilot.”

Borough Commander, Detective Chief Superintendent Jeremy Burton, said: “The use of this power is not directed at stopping people drinking responsibly in public; it is a further tactic in our drive to reduce anti-social behaviour associated with alcohol abuse and misuse. We will continue to work with Lewisham Council and our communities in combating alcohol related disorder and I look forward to the results of this pilot.”

To take part in the consultation go to www.lewisham.gov.uk and click on the ‘Check our active consultations’ and then ‘Lewisham Designated Public Place Order’.

Comments can be emailed to communitysafety@lewisham.gov.uk

The consultation ends on 27 August.

To see the full announcement from the council, go to the Brockley Central blog:

http://brockleycentral.blogspot.com/2010/08/public-drinking-public-consultation.html?showComment=1281622777839

The Mango restaurant was fined over £16,000 by Tower Hamlets Council

A Brick Lane restaurant has been fined more than £16,000 after food inspectors discovered a kitchen infested with mice and cockroaches.

The case against Mangos, a curry house at 90 Brick Lane, following an inspection by Environmental Health Commercial Officers from Tower Hamlets Council last autumn. (more…)

Photo: See-ming Lee 李思明 SML @ flickr

Blackheath residents have expressed their concern about the planned closure of their local library, which they say would prove harmful to children and elderly people.

A meeting to discuss the closure of Blackheath Library produced mixed responses from local people, with some condemning the plans and arguing that the village is increasingly dominated by leisure venues for young adults, alienating other members of the community.

More than fifty people attended the meeting on Wednesday night at the Leamore Centre  in Lewisham.

Lewisham Council’s decision to close Blackheath Library – as well as four other Lewisham libraries, as part of a swathe of cuts announced by Mayor Steve Bullock – was source of concern for many local people.

Although the closure of the library is likely, alternative options were put forward.

The meeting was chaired by Malcolm Smith, the executive director for regeneration in Lewisham, who answered questions alongside Aileen Buckton, the executive director for the borough’s community services.

Ian Mills, the chair of local charity Age Exchange which helps the elderly, presented a ‘fallback position’ should the library close. His solution involves moving some of the library’s services to the nearby Reminiscence Centre.

The three Blackheath councillors, Kevin Bonavia, Amanda De Ryk and Chris Maines, all attended, asking and answering questions themselves.

Although much of the meeting discussed how the closure of the library would be managed, many local people are still opposed to the library closing altogether.

Hubert Spall, a 39-year-old web developer from Blackheath, said that he didn’t think the library should close at all.

He went on to say that he has a 6-year-old daughter who is a regular user of Blackheath Library and would suffer without it, and added: “It is a real problem is if children grow up without a library.”

The meeting was attended by the Blackheath Village Library Users Group which is also strongly opposed to the closure of Blackheath Library. Yet Anne Bennet, the writer of the group’s newsletter, added that the money needed to fund the library ‘just isn’t there.’

Other issues were talked about, as some local people voiced concerns that the library is one of the only places left for the elderly in Blackheath Village, which some believe is becoming overwhelmed with pubs and cafés for younger people.

By Tom Hilton

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