A woman has been presented with the Leader’s Recognition Award for helping a young teen whose phone had just been stolen.

Linda Evans-Packham from Romford, was driving home when she saw teenager Melissa Watson distressed and trying to flag down someone for help. Concerned, Linda pulled over only to learn it was Melissa’s first time in London and upon arrival in Barking, her phone was snatched. Melissa had travelled from Devon for an audition at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.

After a very successful first neighbourhood funding round, which saw 13 local groups each receiving up to £10,000, Barking and Dagenham Council have now opened bids for the next pot of developer’s cash.

 

The council are calling for local community groups, who may have an idea for a project that will benefit residents within borough, to apply for grants of up to £10,000.

 

A cemetery in Barking and Dagenham that recently underwent a £400,000 extension has received a nationally recognised award.

Chadwell Heath Cemetery achieved gold standard accreditation under the charter for the bereaved, a nationwide scheme operated by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM).

The ICCM, which was founded in 1913, aims to improve bereaved people’s experiences by providing a set of standards related to burial, cremation and funerals, such as checking the facilities offered and information available.

While all eyes were on Westminster in central London this week, it was the illegal fly-tipping activities of three men at Westminster Gardens that feature in Barking and Dagenham Council’s latest Wall of Shame CCTV Appeal.

The trio are clearly pictured dumping a number of black bags illegally on the street, which is close to the A13, and are just some of several new faces to feature in the long-running series.

The Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, Cllr Darren Rodwell, has sent a passionate letter to both the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sajid Javid MP and Home Secretary, Priti Patel MP, following a recent visit from the Home Secretary, urging action to be taken to help provide a network of Youth Zones up and down the country.

Three in five students (62 per cent) in Barking and Dagenham have achieved the national GCSE standard of a grade 9 to 4 in English and maths – with one student securing a scholarship to one of the world’s most prestigious colleges.

Sydney Russell School pupil Afzal Hussain, 16, delivered one of the country’s top performances as he achieved nine grade 9s and one grade 8 in his exams.

He will go on to study double maths, history and German at the 15th-century college, whose alumni include Prime Minister Boris Johnson and author George Orwell.

Six people who were recently featured in Barking and Dagenham Council’s Wall of Shame CCTV Appeal series have been caught and fined a total of £1,500 for fly-tipping and littering. 

The culprits were fined following council investigations and confidential tip offs from members of the public.

Barking brothers, Taylor and Harrison, have today (21 August) received a Recognition Award from the Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council for their quick thinking during the Samuel Garside House fire at Barking Riverside. 

The fire broke out on Sunday 9 June, causing nearly 80 households to be evacuated, with some homes destroyed or damaged. Fortunately, no-one was hurt or killed in the incident. 

An illegal extension added to the side of a former public house in Dagenham has been demolished today (15 August), after the owners repeatedly ignored orders to remove it.  

 

The single storey lean-to had been erected without permission onto The Bull, on Rainham Road South, which ceased trading as a pub in 2014 and is now used as an African supermarket and a health and safety retailer.

 

Young people in Barking and Dagenham were jumping for joy this morning as many found out they had been accepted into top universities and companies such as Goldman Sachs.

There was jubilation at Robert Clack School of Science as almost a third of pupils achieved top grades of A* to A, with three pupils securing places at Oxford to study Mathematics, Engineering and Law respectively. Karan Ruparell was in total shock with his three A*s in Maths, Further Maths and Physics and will be off to study a four-year Mathematics degree at Oxford.