COMMUNITY WATCH MAGAZINE Issue 18 April 2018 Michael Sheen is the loan ranger - Page 3 Len wins his scams exam - Page 7 Plea to stop gang culture in London -P11 2 Grenfell heroes on the run to raise funds Moped thugs jailed A GROUP of 18 London firefighters who were among the first to attend the THREE men responsible for a series of Grenfell Tower blaze last June are running the London Marathon this month in a motorcycle thefts and moped-enabled bid to raise vital funds for groups supporting local people affected by the fire. knifepoint robberies in central London They are also fundraising for the Fire Fighters Charity, which continues to provide have been sentenced to a total of over physical and psychological support to the firefighters who attended the blaze. 20 years' imprisonment. Full story at goo.gl/fcn1XH Visit goo.gl/cgw91o Sheen the loan ranger tackles the toughest role of his long career Michael Sheen outside 10 Downing Street when he portrayed Prime Minister Tony Blair and, right, as Sir David Frost HE is best known for his portrayal of alternative sources of credit. of the government’s welfare reform pro- Brian Clough, David Frost and Tony Blair. The passionate Welshman has set up gramme and focus on ways to reduce He has played the title role in Hamlet the End High Cost Credit Alliance, a cam- household debt levels. and received a Golden Globe for his per- paign group of politicians, charities and He is enraged by curtailment of govern- formance in the Showtime television tech companies he has brought together, ment crisis loans and by the spread of drama Masters of Sex. working to promote more affordable chronic debt but he is also exceptionally But actor Michael Sheen is cutting back ways of borrowing money. well-informed about the subject and pas- in his acting career to take on the tough- His dedication to tackling problem debt sionate about finding ways to improve est role of his career - as a loan shark cru- has been inspired by witnessing difficul- things. sader. ties faced by friends in the Welsh town of Sheen has just finished a five-year stint Sheen is turning into a modern-day Port Talbot where he grew up, a region in Los Angeles, where he acted in superhero and has launched a campaign struggling with the decline of the local Twilight and took other roles that against high-interest credit providers, like steel industry. allowed him to be close to his daughter Wonga and BrightHouse, and back street Sheen wants to analyze the flaws of studying in the US. loan sharks by working to find fairer universal credit, discuss the shortcomings Continued page 4 3 Simon Cowell targeted by fraudsters...again Jail for lorry driver SIMON Cowell is the target of an online scam claiming he invested £500,000 in a LORRY driver David Robert Hastings, 45, fake wealth creation scheme – the second time the same conmen have targeted of Manor Road, Mitcham, who ran over him in a year. Users who followed a Twitter link were taken to a web page and killed an elderly pedestrian while quoting Simon as a supporter of the project. A spokesman for Cowell said the using his mobile phone has been jailed matter has now been put in the hands of his lawyers. for four years at the Old Bailey. Full story at goo.gl/HWGqfW Full story goo.gl/KMtzKy From page 3 like Moneyline, Scotcash, or Street UK. Since she started college, Sheen has been Sheen is using a significant amount of able to spend more time in the UK, relo- his own money to fund the campaign, cating to Port Talbot, where he has been and hopes to unlock donations from confronted daily by the problems associ- other philanthropists. He will continue ated with spiraling household debt. acting, but will make this project his pri- “I’ve become increasingly aware of ority when he isn’t working, and hopes friends and family dealing with being in to be involved in working on debt for the debt ? with overdrafts, credit card pay- long-term. I have had friends ments, pay day loans, home credit,? he My leverage depends on me having said. both money and profile, so there?s no breaking down in tears “It’s a really hard subject to talk about point giving up my access to both of talking about how it but I?ve had friends breaking down in those things. It’s about finding a bal- tears talking about how it is affecting ance.? affected their their relationship, their self-esteem, their He recognises that there may be cyni- children?s lives. It touches buttons about cism about the capacity of a Hollywood relationship their self- your own sense of dignity and pride. star to bring about change in this incredi- esteem, and their “People often say: Well if someone bly complex area. can’t afford something, they shouldn't?t It is absolutely right that people should children’s lives. be paying for it?. But people have told be suspicious. We should always ques- me in order to travel to a job interview, I tion people?s agendas. People should be had to get a bit of credit, or my child has asking: Is this just stuff I say, or am I mak- a disability, in order to cover just basic ing a difference. Ideally, he says, he needs I have to go into debt. wouldn’t be the face of this “More and more this is about people campaign. “I'd rather no one needing to pay for basic needs.” knew what I was doing at As he points out, three million UK all, the problem is that’s households are paying more than 25% of what I bring to the table.” their income to creditors ? representing Conservative politician 10 million people, or more than 10% of and sports minister the population. Tracey Crouch is one of Although he hasn’t had personal experi- the alliance’s members, as ence, he is aware that it’s something that is Ed Milliband, along with cuts through society. academics and debt chari- “if you?ve ever gone into overdraft sit- ties. The movement aims to uation and you?re not sure you can come be pragmatic and Sheen out of it, you?re already dealing with believes it will have succeeded stress,” he added. in five years time, if things Initially he wondered if he could spend are simply better. some of his savings on buying back bad debt to wipe it out. Inspired by John Oliver, the host of the US chat show Last Week Tonight, who bought back nearly $15m (£10m) worth of medical debt on his show, forgiving the debts of about 9,000 people. But that proved too com- plex. Michael Sheen, cutting back on His campaign group’s manifesto prom- his acting career to try and ises: ‘We will back fair finance providers, make a difference to people’s equipping them with the resources to lives across the country compete and win against high-cost credit providers.’ He hopes to be able to raise awareness about not-for-profit loan organisations, 4 £20,000 reward for help in cabbie murder Prison for acid attack A REWARD of £20,000 is being offered by the Met Police for information on a A TEENAGER who attacked six men with murder that took place on December 3, 2016. Cab driver Carl O’Brien (right) was a corrosive substance in Newham, attacked on a communal stairwell of flats at Vanguard Way, Wallington. Islington and Hackney was sentenced to He was taken to hospital later that day after losing consciousness but 10 and a half years’ imprisonment at sadly died two days before Christmas. Wood Green Crown Court. Read more at goo.gl/PQb7V8 Visit goo.gl/SSD9Co TWENTY years ago Bexley decided they wanted to launch a neighbourhood watch even though they realised that reaching everyone in the borough was going to be a huge task. But this is a significant year for Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association as they celebrate their 20th anniversary. And they can look back with pride on what they have achieved over two decades. From the early days when they had just a few members, the number of street Coordinators has now grown now to over 1,200 covering over 42,000 homes in the London Borough of Bexley. They also have a pro-active team of office volunteers and committee mem- Watch members and police at the launch of their successful BikeWatch scheme bers who give up their valuable leisure time these are some of the things the do; 1) Give talks to other groups Happy 20th birthday as 2) Attend various meetings 3) Produce the member’s quarterly newsletter 4) Write the NW column for the Bexley watch celebrates Bexley Magazine 5) Collate a weekly information cover in several wards and we continue shoplifting and other crime around shops report from Police teams/residents and to work with ward police team members such as the distribution of counterfeit members to inform Coordinators of to expand our membership. notes. crime taking place in their wards. Burglary statistics support that for Their Houndwatch scheme urges dog 6) Help out in their busy office walkers to report anything untoward they 7) Arrange fund raising events every three burglaries two are in roads may see from fly tipping to drug dealing. 8) Put up street signs right across Bexley with NO neighbourhood watch cover.