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An Indian restaurant owner has been fined more than £40,000 after council officers discovered an infestation of cockroaches and mice. Restaurant Dhaka Biryani in Mile End was closed down immediately following a routine inspection carried out in July 2016. Having established the restaurant was not registered on the Food Safety System, the council's Environmental Health team visited the premises as a routine inspection. In carrying out a full food hygiene inspection, officers found a severe infestation of cockroaches and mice. Environmental Health Officers found cockroaches brazenly appearing in the well-lit kitchen in droves despite typically being nocturnal indicating that the problem had been deep-rooted and longstanding. Closer inspection revealed that a mouse infestation also existed as...

    A gang of moped thieves who carried out more than 100 phone muggings in a 16 day rampage across London laughed and shared jokes as they were jailed for more than 18 years. Claude Parkinson, 18, was the leader of a teenage gang who toured the capital's streets on stolen mopeds snatching phones out of unsuspecting pedestrians' hands. Known to friends as Big CJ, Parkinson was likened to he Artful Dodger as he led one of the raids. The crime spree climaxed on May 4 when Parkinson, two boys aged 15 and 16, and a fourth accomplice who has never been caught, terrorised Oxford Street shoppers and targeting pedestrians outside BBC Television Centre. Evening Standard editor George Osborne was among those who fell victim to Parkinson's crew as they carried out 33 offences in the spac...

Award winning Victoria Park is the venue for the Tower Hamlets Council's free fireworks display this year. Victoria Park won the award for best large park in London at the London in bloom Awards last month andplays host to the spectacular sci- fi themed display from 7pm. Organised by the council's Arts, Parks and Events Team and produced by Walk the Plank, this year's Guy Fawkes celebration will bring an exciting sci-fi vibe with a mix of both contemporary and classical tracks synchronised to a dizzying sequence of fireworks and special effects. Blasting off at 7pm, residents can journey to the stars and enjoy a stunning and free display. The park will be open earlier in the evening with refreshments available to be bought on site from 5.30pm. Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs sa...

A new road charge in London will be introduced next month to help tackle emissions from the oldest polluting vehicles. The Toxicity Charge is being introduced by Transport for London. From Monday 23 October as part of a package of actions intended to help clean up London's dangerously polluted air, a new charge for drivers will be in place. The T-Charge is an additional charge to the existing Congestion Charge scheme and entails a £10 supplement for vehicles that do not meet the Euro 4 standards for both PM and NOx (largely equating to vehicles registered before 2006 or over 10 years old). It only applies in Congestion Charge hours Monday to Friday from 7am to 6pm and to the same area. This excludes bank holidays and the period between Christmas Day and New Year's Day inclusive. There is a...

Ahead of this year's World Mental Health Day on 10 October, Tower Hamlets Council is sharing its findings on how loneliness can affect anyone. Loneliness is increasingly recognised as a serious health concern having a detrimental impact on health and wellbeing, affecting people of all ages. Mayor John Biggs said: The council and its partners are looking to tackle loneliness more widely and these projects provided a valuable insight into what we can do as a community to make life better for residents suffering from loneliness. Reducing loneliness not only improves people's health and wellbeing, transforming their lives, but also reduces the strain on health and care services. A video was commissioned to capture two projects that further explored loneliness. The 'Community Perspectives on Lo...