Nearly 100 evacuated after electrical fire spreads to London block of flats

An electrical substation fire in west London has spread to a neighbouring block of flats, with residents ‘fearing the worst’ as they rushed out of their homes.

Residents in the Maida Vale area near Paddington should keep their windows and doors shut after a huge fire broke out at a substation on Aberdeen Place at about 5.30am today, with thick black smoke billowing into the air.

Around 100 firefighters are at the scene after an electrical transformer at the substation went up in flames.

The fire spread to the roof of a residential building, with around 80 people evacuated from the block of flats before it was brought under control, the London Fire Brigade confirmed.

The cause of the fire was a ‘fault on a piece of equipment in our substation,’ the UK Power Network said.

‘It was terrifying’

One resident said: ‘People were banging on our flat door getting us out this morning with shouts of ‘fire, fire’ and telling us to run. It was terrifying. I feared the worst. 

‘I grabbed my shoes and legged it.’

Another local, who lives at a nearby luxury development, said it has been ‘chaos.’

They said: ‘The smoke is so thick. I’m glad I have got a Covid mask still because I am worried about the smoke.’

Residents reported hearing ‘loud bangs, like explosions’ when the fire broke out.

Marc Whitehouse, 44, was staying at his girlfriend Adele Dillon’s place on Aberdeen Place when he woke up to ‘bangs’ that sounded like ‘scaffold planes being thrown away.’

He said his first thought was ‘who’s starting work at this time in the morning.’

Adele, 54, who uses a wheelchair, said: ‘At 6am I opened the curtains and that’s when I saw it (the fire).

‘It was popping and crackling.’

The couple left their home in a rush with their two cats and a dog, taking the animals to Adele’s mum’s house nearby.

Elderly and vulnerable residents have been displaced and have taken shelter at the Wharncliffe Gardens community centre, a council volunteer said.

Steve Pennington, who is part of the Westminster council welfare response team, said that ‘we have got residents that have been displaced and we are trying to help them as best we can’ and that ‘there’s a lot to do.’

The fire is causing a ‘considerable amount of smoke,’ which is visible from far away, the fire brigade warned.

Station Commander Paul Morgan, who is at the scene, said: ‘This is a very visible fire and there is lots of smoke. Residents are advised to keep their windows and doors shut.’

An eyewitness, who is at the scene, told Metro: ‘The flames are going higher and higher. They have to let it burn because the power is still on. They can’t fight it until the power is off.

‘They can’t put water on it until it’s off.’

The man said that one of the firefighters told him to ‘charge up his phone.’

He said he saw the size of the fire grow from about 10 feet to ‘about 70 feet’ in the space of an hour.

There have been no reports of any injuries.

One local claimed that firefighters fear the fire could impact the electrical supply ‘across the city,’ describing it as ‘a nightmare.’

However, UK Power Networks told Metro that the ‘isolated incident’ has not ‘interrupted power supplies.’

A spokesperson said: ‘Our teams are working with the fire service to make the equipment safe. This is an isolated incident and customers’ supplies were not impacted.’

Footage shows flames raging high as they reach above the roof level of nearby houses, with thick black smoke billowing into the air.

One resident in the SW7 area in southwest London said the smoke is visible for miles.

Several people have contacted the fire brigade’s control room, with around 73 calls logged alerting them to the blaze.

Metro understands that the location might be a telecommunications substation.

The fire brigade told Metro that they have sent a specialist unit to the scene that can put out electrical fires.

The substation is not thought to supply the transport network.

We have approached UK Power Networks for a comment.

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Hip hop star Ebow Graham fell to his death ‘after string of NHS and ambulance failings’

The NHS has admitted ‘shortcomings’ after a hip hop star died after falling out of a third-storey window.

In April 2020, Foreign Beggars’ musician Ebow Graham – who performed under the name Metropolis – died at the age of 41.

His death was confirmed by the UK hip hop group on their Facebook page, who announced he’d died following an ‘accident’ at his home.

At the time they wrote that Graham, the father to a 10-year-old-son, was a ‘deep and peaceful soul, a dedicated and loving father’ who also ‘touched people with his warmth, insight, talent and generosity everywhere he went’.

Now, five years on, the East London NHS trust and London ambulance service have admitted failures that led to his death in a damning report.

Following a psychotic episode, Graham fell 40 feet out of a window from his flat in Clapton, east London.

It’s now emerged that hours earlier, London ambulance paramedics had dismissed Graham’s friends’ concerns about his behaviour, while a crisis call handler from the trust also failed to properly assess his risk or arrange an urgent mental health assessment within the recommended time.

Both have now reached an undisclosed settlement with Graham’s former partner Francesca Macri.

As reported by The Guardian, his friends first called 999 around 4.20pm on April 17 when they became worried for him.

Macri has said that when paramedics arrived, they were ‘dismissive and flippant’ and concluded the musician had ‘capacity over his care’.

A serious incident report that wad filed by the London ambulance service later admitted that they had failed to follow appropriate protocols by not contacting the mental health team for advice.

Two hours later at 6.30pm his flatmate, a GP, called the mental health crisis team urging for assistance as there were still grave concerns about Graham’s state of mind.

But instead of organising an urgent same-day assessment within a recommended four-hour window, the crisis team nurse only offered an appointment for the following morning.

Graham’s friends eventually took him to a local hospital but eventually took him home as he was agitated and restless while waiting to be seen.

Once back at his home, they made another two emergency calls. At 12.25am the next day they called again – this time to report that he’d fallen out of a window.

Although he was rushed to hospital he suffered a cardiac arrest on the way and died soon after.

The East London NHS foundation trust has now admitted shortcomings, while the London ambulance service’s investigation concluded there were ‘several missed opportunities’ to provide Graham with ‘expert help’.

Meanwhile is partner has said that since Graham’s death, his loved ones had a ‘number of concerns about the treatment he received, or rather didn’t receive, on that day.’

‘The paramedics that attended on that day were dismissive and flippant and ignored what Ebow’s friends were telling them,’ she said.

‘They asked whether Ebow had smoked cannabis and this concerns me – were they asking this because Ebow was a black man with dreadlocks? Why did it even matter what had caused Ebow’s psychosis and shouldn’t the focus have been on helping him? I cannot help but wonder whether racial profiling played any part in the way Ebow was treated.’

‘Our only hope now is that the heartbreak we’ve suffered highlights the dangers of drugs but also the need for those with mental health issues to receive the most appropriate and swift treatment. If Ebow had received the correct care on that fateful day he may still be here with us today,’ she added.

Meanwhile her lawyer, Leena Savjani said this case now meant it was ‘vital that lessons are learned from the issues that have been identified to help improve patient safety in relation to mental health’.

‘We’d always urge health professionals to listen carefully to loved ones when a person is in distress as it can help ensure that urgent assessments are carried out and appropriate help can be provided to those who need it,’ she added.

The London ambulance service’s chief executive Daniel Elkeles offered ‘sincere condolences’ to Graham’s loved ones.

‘We are sorry for the shortcomings in the care we provided to him in the hours before his death,’ he continued.

‘The inquest found we should have sought mental health specialist advice on whether Mr Graham had capacity to decline treatment. However, there was no finding of racial profiling and these are claims we strongly refute.

‘We carried out an investigation into the care of Mr Graham and there has been much learning and action for the trust in the five years since he died.’

Foreign Beggars were founded in London in 2002, forging a name in underground hip hop but later crossed into EDM territory with albums including United Colours of Beggattron.

They won best new act at the 2004 UK Hip Hop Awards and released 11 albums, with their most recent being 2019’s Matriarchy.

Metro has contacted the East London NHS trust for comment.

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Former Wes Streeting aide avoids jail after indecent exposure

An ex-London councillor who previously worked as one of Wes Streeting’s top aides has been handed a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to indecent exposure.

Sam Gould, 33, stepped down from Redbridge Council in north-east London last month after admitting two counts of the crime.

He was seen masturbating in a parked car by a 13-year-old girl last month, before he left the car and started following her.

The young girl tried to hide and banged on doors asking for help, prosecutors told the court.

According to the Sun, the teenager’s mother said she was scared to leave the house after the incident.

In a separate incident, he was seen by a woman masturbating in a Mini Cooper with its windows rolled down on February 9, the court heard.

Streeting, the health secretary, said there were ‘no words to express my horror that a mother and her daughter have been put through this ordeal’.

He added: ‘As soon as I was made aware of his arrest he was suspended, and as soon as the guilty plea was entered I took immediate steps to sack him through official HR processes.

‘There are no excuses for his appalling behaviour.’

Redbridge Council leader Kam Rai said he was shocked by the ‘inexcusable betrayal of [Gould’s] residents’.

At Barkingside Magistrates’ Court this afternoon, Gould was sentenced to 22 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years.

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Sadiq Khan outlines plan for London to host ‘brilliant’ and ‘very cheap’ Olympics

Sadiq Khan wants London to bid for the 2040 Olympics and insists the capital can host the Games ‘brilliantly’ and ‘very cheaply’.

London 2012 proved to be a monumental success and Khan, Mayor of London since 2016, is determined to bring the Games back to the English capital.

If successful, London would become the first city to host the Olympics four times.

In an interview with The Times, Khan set out his plan to make London the ‘sporting capital of the world’ and highlighted the economic benefits of staging major sport events.

A new report published by the Mayor of London’s office says £230m was generated for the capital after London staged six high-profile events last year, including the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.

Khan intends to join forces with British Athletics and UK Sport to submit a proposal to host the World Athletics Championship in 2029.

England, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales has already been confirmed as hosts for Euro 2028, while the 2035 Women’s World Cup will also land on these shores.

But Khan has said he will hold meetings with the government ‘in the near future’ to discuss a bid for London to host the 2040 Olympics.

‘I was in Paris last summer [for the 2024 Olympics] and I saw the transformation of their city,’ Khan said.

‘But we could knock it out of the park in relation to the Olympics, using the assets we already have in the aquatics centre, the stadium, the velodrome. We could have some events outside of London too. London could be a hub.

‘When it comes to major sports events, the public and governments are not unreasonably nervous about a huge amount of money being spent on infrastructure.

‘But the reason why 2040 makes sense for London is because we could do it in a brilliant way but also very cheaply.

‘An Olympics in London wouldn’t cost a fortune, but the benefits would be humongous.’

Discussing the report produced by the Mayor’s office, Khan added: ‘I’m somebody who loves sport, and I see the benefit of watching it.

‘But what I thought we’d do is commission a report to work out the economic impact sport has.

‘My ambition has always been for London to be the sporting capital of the world, and then to consolidate our position. What this report does is quantify the economic dividend we receive

‘I would like to see London become the first city to host the Games four times.

‘I’ll be meeting the secretary in the near future. I’ll be raising this in a constructive way. The government, not unreasonably, is obsessed with growth.

‘This report confirms that sport can bring huge dividends to our country; the soft power of London on a global stage. And it also brings joy and inspires the next generation.’

The London 2012 Olympic Games cost a total of £8.77 billion – three times the original budget of £2.4 billion.

More than two-thirds of the UK public said the staggering cost of hosting the Olympics was worth the money, according to a ComRes poll.

In a poll conducted in 2013 – less than a year after the London Games – 74% said they would welcome the Olympics back to Britain.

Last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris reportedly cost almost £7 billion, making it the sixth most expensive in history.

Los Angeles is set to host the next Olympics in 2028 before the biggest sporting event in the world heads to Brisbane in 2032.

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First picture of architect stabbed to death weeks before marrying ‘love of his life’

The family of an architect who was about to marry the love of his life today paid tribute to their ‘beautiful boy.’

Harpal Singh Roopra, 38, was temporarily living at an address in Ellerman Avenue Twickenham, while he prepared a home for him and his bride to be. 

His father Harbans Singh, speaking at the family home in Wembley, told Metro: ‘We have lost our beautiful boy. He had his life ahead of him.

‘He was going to get married to the love of his life, and we were so pleased and excited. He had moved out to the house where it happened so he could do up the space he was planning for the marital home. 

‘The house where it took place is owned by one of our family and is let out to tenants. He only planned to be there for a short time, and it’s a nice area.

‘We can’t believe what has happened. My son was the most peaceful man, just a family-loving, hard-working member of society.

‘We are heartbroken. I have lost my beautiful boy. 

The victim had three brothers and one sister and was known as a doting uncle who always had time for family. 

His eldest brother Amajit told Metro: ‘He was the person who would do anything for anyone. He loved life and was looking forward to marrying.

‘He was great with the kids in the family – the uncle who everyone loved. He worked hard and just had no bad in him.

His family said he had been planning to set up home in Wembley with his bride to be and had been working round the clock to revamp the rooms where they were going to live. 

His brother added: ‘He loved films, rode a motorcycle and had the best heart.

‘He was a lot of fun to be around, and to think us four brothers are now three is just too much to take.’

Mr Roopra, 38, died after being found with stab wounds in Ellerman Avenue, Twickenham, just before midnight on Saturday.

George Luka, 45 (28.12.79), of Ellerman Avenue, Twickenham, was charged today with murder. He will appear at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court later this morning.

Neighbours described hearing ‘shouting’ before Mr Roopra collapsed with fatal stab wounds on a drive on the suburban street in south west London

A neighbour told Metro: ‘We heard shouting and then the road was full of police and ambulances.

‘It was a shocking and horrific scene.’                          

Another said: ‘I heard some shouting then just chaos in the road with emergency services everywhere.’

A neighbour, 46, told Metro: ‘The house is rented to tenants we’ve never had an issue, but obviously this is a real shock.

‘To wake up to this on your doorstep is horrific. It’s a lovely area, it’s totally not what we expect.’

The incident comes just a few days after Metro revealed the worst hotspots for crime in London.

Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lee, who is leading the investigation from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: ‘A team of detectives are working to piece together the circumstances that resulted in this tragic incident.

‘Our thoughts are with the victim’s family at this difficult time.

‘Officers will remain in the area throughout the day as they carry out further enquiries and gather evidence.

‘Anyone with concerns or information about what happened should speak to them.’

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‘Double bagging’ is rife on London’s tube network and commuters are livid

You’re in a huff as you hurry through a sea of commuters onto a packed Circle Line train, praying you won’t be late for work (again).

You look around for a seat and, in typical fashion, they’re all occupied – but not by people.

Rucksacks, handbags and ugly briefcases are dumped on empty seats, as their owners lounge on the seat next to them. And of course, there’s no thought to move their bag to floor so you can take its place.

This infuriating behaviour isn’t new, but it’s now got a name: ‘double bagging’.

Don’t be rude – it’s a perfectly innocent term coined by Metro, to describe the act of taking up two seats on public transport; one for their bag; one for themselves.

These double baggers are the worst types of commuters – appearing on tubes, trains and buses – and we aren’t the only ones who have a problem with them.

A commuter took to Reddit to share her encounter with a double bagger, and it didn’t go well.

‘There have been many occasions where other passengers on the train will occupy the empty seat next to them with their bag. There are people standing during the ride when there are available seats,’ she wrote.

‘I walked multiple [carriages] to try to find an empty seat (without a bag) but couldn’t. The last [carriage] I went to, I asked this woman if I could sit there and she pretended to not hear me. I didn’t want to tap her shoulder… so I waved… she said she didn’t want to hold her bag (which was a no).’

The seat-less commuter explained there was nowhere else to sit asked politely again, but the woman ignored her, so she took action.

‘I ended up just sitting in the seat on her purse,’ they wrote. ‘She began pushing me to move and the conductor luckily came by them and told her to relax.

‘She told him that I touched her purse and he asked if it was occupying a seat and she didn’t reply. He ended up telling her to be considerate and left to check tickets.’

People in the comments were quick to agree with the commuter, expressing their distaste for people who put their bags on seats.

‘It’s public transit. Her purse doesn’t get a seat because she had a bad day,’ said one.

‘Sorry, your bag didn’t pay for a ticket,’ added another.

It’s not just a London problem either, one user from Seattle even shared the measures their city was taking to try and stop double baggers.

‘I hate when people do this on a full train. In my city there are signs everywhere saying “bags don’t have butts”, telling people to leave the seats for actual humans, but it doesn’t do much good,’ they said.

Others were simply floored at the lack of manners people have nowadays, saying they ‘dispise’ people like this.

‘I take the train for work and the level of entitlement I see daily is wild to me,’ wrote @oohh-val.

How commuters are dealing with double baggers

People were quick to offer their methods for managing these double baggers.

@cloielle said: ‘I’ve found the verrry slow sit-down effective. It’s never brought me any confrontation other than maybe a bit of muttering, because they always move the bag before you actually touch it. And then you can follow up with “oh, thanks!” just to add the cherry on top.’

Another said: ‘I usually sort of shove people’s bags towards them with my hip so they’re forced to grab them or they’ll fall.’

‘I would have probably picked up the purse and said where do you want this while I sat down,’ added someone else.

Of course, asking nicely should be your first port of call, but sometimes it requires drastic measures.

So, double baggers, if you’re reading, it’s time to get some manners.

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Protesters wrestled to ground and arrested after disrupting London Marathon with red paint

Protesters leaped into the road as London Marathon runners approached and hurled red paint onto Tower Bridge.

Footage from the event showed how they were pushed to the side and wrestled to the ground, before a group of police officers surrounded them and they were arrested around 10.35am this morning.

The activist group Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, said their supporters jumped over the barriers and threw the substance in front of the men’s elite race.

An image shared by Youth Demand shows two people standing in the middle of the road wearing t-shirts that said ‘Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel’.

City of London police quickly arrested them, the group said.

Youth Demand named the two activists as Willow Holland, 18, from Bristol, and Cristy North, a live-in carer from Nottingham.

Miss Holland was quoted by the group as saying: ‘I am taking action with Youth Demand because I have run out of other options: thousands are being killed in Gaza, our Government is making no effort to stop it and no other course of action, marches or rallies, has worked. I refuse to be complicit in a genocide funded by our politicians.’

Ms North was quoted as saying: ‘I’m taking action today at the London marathon because the people in Palestine are running out of time. We have tried all other avenues to get the Government to stop arming Israel and yet our Government is still enabling a genocide.

‘They are making the UK people complicit in breaking UK domestic law by using our taxes to arm a genocidal state, breaking humanitarian international law.’

The Metropolitan Police said the two protesters are in custody after being arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance.

A statement said: ‘At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint onto the road.

‘Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.

‘He was quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance. They remain in custody.

‘The paint appears to be chalk-based and is not expected to present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point.’

The BBC TV feed cut to the elite men’s race moments after the leaders had crossed Tower Bridge and there appeared to be no impact on the race.

More than 56,000 people raced the 26.2-mile course through the capital today, with thousands more supporters with banners lining the streets of the capital to cheer on the runners and wave to their loved ones.

Participants, including a pair dressed as shower gel bottles, could be seen taking selfies and checking their watches as they set off.

London could set a new record for the world’s biggest marathon, which is currently held by the TCS New York Marathon in November when there were 55,646 finishers.

Among the participants were David Stancombe and Sergio Aguiar, whose daughters Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were murdered in the Southport mass stabbing last summer.

In a video message posted on X, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wished the pair ‘the very best of luck’.

He added: ‘This is an incredible way to honour the memory of your precious daughters and the entire nation is in awe of your courage and your resilience.

‘We’ll all be with you, every single step of the way.’

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