Roof collapses after fire in south-west London

Aftermath of roof collapse in Feltham. Source: London Fire Brigade

London fire services were called out to deal with a fire on Elmcroft Close in Feltham Tuesday morning, just before 4am.

The blaze spread to half of the first floor, and the entire roof, causing the ceiling to fall in.

The fire at the maisonette on Elmcroft Close, #Feltham is now under control. https://t.co/CUPWdbNgqL pic.twitter.com/drAD9C6TVS

— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) February 6, 2019

A total of 60 firefighters attended the scene.

London Fire Brigade’s station manager, Mike Cotton, said: ‘Crews are dealing with a well-developed fire in a block of two maisonettes, one of the flats is alight. Firefighters are working hard to stop the blaze spreading to the adjacent property.’

Thatcher statue rejected in London but approved in Grantham

Nearly thirty years since her departure from Downing Street, the town of Grantham in Lincolnshire will honour Margret Thatcher with a statue originally intended for Parliament square.

The application for the sculpture was approved on Tuesday by councillors despite several warnings from police over fears that it will be ‘a target for politically-motivated vandals’.

The local Labour leader, Charmaine Morgan, acknowledged she was ‘torn’ in her opinion on the tribute to Mrs Thatcher but has accepted that the statue will generate money for the city through tourists.

The pound in the North is stronger than in London

New research by the website Totaljobs says that the pound is worth almost 20 per cent more in the North than in London.

These results show that people are starting to move out of the capital seeking a better quality of life.

Meanwhile, tenants in Manchester pay an average rent of £496 a month, against £1,053 in the capital.

New Cross Gate Station Photo by: Harvey Baldwin

Geraint Johnes, professor of economics at Lancaster University added that ‘One of the things that featured heavily was the difference in time spent commuting.’

Work starts on the removal of the fatberg ‘monster’ in Sidmouth

A large collection of wet wipes, fat, oil, and other rubbish was discovered in the sewers of Sidmouth in December.

It is estimated that it could take up to eight weeks of manual labour to remove the fatberg as it needs to be broken down and sucked up to the surface.

Fatberg extraction in Sidmouth Credit: SOUTH WEST WATER

Clearance teams are using a combination of high-pressure jets and pick-axes to open up the enormous chunk of congealed fat.

South West Water asked everyone not to ‘pour fats, oil or grease down the drain, or flush wet-wipes down the loo’ in an attempt to prevent these incidents.