Hamish, the furry medic who always brings a smile to his patients’ faces.
Sam, the teaching assistant whose patience changed the life of one of her pupils.
Gary and Lisa, the couple planning to breathe new life into park café.
Page 6
Page 10
Page 18
yourcroydon
Issue 30 - June 2009
Your community newspaper from your council
www.croydon.gov.uk
Jail for thug who beat lollipop man Brave victim back at work the following day despite swelling and broken teeth. A mindless thug who beat up a lollipop man in an unprovoked attack has been jailed for nine months. Phillip Preston, 44, of Campbell Road, Thornton Heath, attacked pensioner Barry Cox, a school crossing patrol officer at Elmwood Junior and
Infants school, on March 13 last year, leaving him with a swollen face and several broken teeth. Barry, 65, had just finished seeing the last of the schoolchildren safely across the road, at the crossing on the junction of Elmwood Road and
Undeterred: Brave Barry has vowed to carry on working
Bensham Lane, when he was approached by Preston and another man. He had rested his lollipop against railings when he heard a loud crash, and turned to see it had been thrown into the path of a passing car, smashing the windscreen. As Barry, a former Territorial Army paratrooper, tried to detain the laughing culprit he was punched hard in the face by Preston. He said: “He’d been drinking and was very aggressive. I was spitting teeth and there was blood everywhere.” As the pair fled, local shopkeepers came to the aid of the shaken lollipop man. Undeterred, Barry managed to finish his shift, grateful that most of the children were already home and didn’t witness the savage assault. He was back at work the next morning. Preston was brought to justice following an anonymous tip-off to Crimestoppers and jailed at Croydon Crown Court on Tuesday, 28 April. Disappointed with the leniency of the sentence, Barry said: “I don’t think it’s long
enough. All the parents at school were saying it should have been nine years, not nine months.” Grateful for the support from local people, Barry has vowed to continue helping schoolchildren cross the road safely. He said: “Everyone has been so kind and I’m always being asked if I’m OK, but I wasn’t going to let some brainless coward beat me. “I enjoy my job and I’ve just signed up for another three years. And after that I’ll sign up for another three.” He now faces extensive work, costing in the region of £1,400, to repair his badly damaged teeth. Investigating police officer DC Matt Johnson said: “This was a nasty assault on a public servant whose role is to assist young children cross a busy road. “The case highlights how important the public’s assistance is in bringing offenders to justice and shows that the population of Croydon will not stand for assaults and public disorder to go unchallenged.”
Kelly comes to Croydon She may have been surrounded by longlegged models sporting the latest in high-street fashions, but most eyes were on Lorraine Kelly when she appeared in central Croydon’s Whitgift Shopping Centre recently. The popular TV presenter was in town to present this year’s GMTV High Street Fashion Awards. Shoppers and lunchbreak office workers lapped up
the atmosphere and enthusiastically applauded as each model made her way across the stage. And, when filming was finished, the approachable Ms Kelly chatted to members of the public as she slipped out of the high-heeled shoes she had been wearing for the preceding hour in front of the camera. • See page 12 for an in-depth look at filming in Croydon.
This newspaper is printed on environmentally friendly paper from a sustainable source, and produced at lower cost than the previous Your Croydon magazine.
90158_Your Croydon_Issue 30.indd 1
17/5/09 07:12:59