27/11/2013 BBC London News

Tonight on BBC London News: A man is found guilty of murdering Carole

Waugh, an upmarket escort, at her flat in Marylebone. Warnings for

rail passengers over Christmas, expect major disruption. There will

be major engineering work, I will have the details. Sold for ?8

million, Croydon Council is criticised for selling off some of

its collection of ancient Chinese pottery. It was Princess Diana's

favourite charity, now the Chicken Shed Theatre Company celebrates a

special anniversary. Good evening. A man has been found guilty of

murdering a woman who was stabbed in her flat and her body hidden in the

boot of a car. 50`year`old Carole Waugh who worked as an upmarket

escort was reported missing from her home in Marylebone in spring last

year. Her body was found in a garage in New Malden several months later.

Today at the Old Bailey Rakesh Bhayani from Wembley was found

guilty of her murder. Another man was cleared. Carole Waugh was said

to have been a wealthy but lonely woman. She was reported missing in

May, 2012, she lived at a flat just off the Edgeware Road and it was

here that she was murdered. She was stabbed in the neck, her body put in

a bag and transferred to a car. It took detectives three months to

track down her remains in this lock`up garage in New Malden in

south London. Today 41`year`old Rakesh Bhayani was found guilty of

her murder, a professional conman and lifelong gambler. Here he is

caught on camera with his co`accused withdrawing money from Carole

Waugh's bank account after she had gone missing. It was soon empty and

credit of more than half ?1 million taken out in her name. They

fraudulently rented her flat out and cleared it up all her belongings.

The Old Bailey heard that Rakesh Bhayani had befriended Carole Waugh

who had once worked for an oil company in the middle east. But

Rakesh Bhayani had no intention of friendship. His motive for killing

her was financial, squandering thousands of pounds on gambling,

alcohol and prostitutes. Another man was found not guilty of murder. They

will be sentenced tomorrow. Coming up later: A warning to middle`class

drinkers as hospital admissions over alcohol rise. One did not have this

sort of middle`class, if I can be politically correct, of slow alcohol

intake over many years because you can afford to drink. Network Rail

has announced plans for engineering work over the Christmas period which

could lead to severe disruption. The plans will see certain train lines

into London suspended for five days. Warren Nettleford is outside

Victoria Station. Waterloo, Paddington and London

Victoria are the three main stations that will be affected by the

engineering work. It is a lot of work to do in a short period of

time. The Gatwick Express will be suspended between the 25th of

December and the 2nd of January. You can still get the train from here to

Gatwick, but it will take two hours. It will have a knock`on effect from

services here to the south coast. Services from Paddington will also

be affected, but there will be a bus replacement service. At London

Waterloo platforms 1`9 will be close. It is a lot to take in. I

spoke to Network Rail and asked why they were doing it all in one go. It

represents the best for commuters in general. The work we are doing

between Victoria and Brighton, if we did it at the weekend, we would have

about 14 months of disruption. That costs a lot more money. It is about

efficiency. That level of disruption at the weekends would not be

tolerated by the users and the train operators. What has been the

reaction from passengers? Network Rail said they learned a lot

from the Olympics and they have worked closely with Gatwick airport

and National Express who are running the bus replacement service.

Passengers seem to be fairly understanding. It will be very

uncomfortable for customers travelling to work, getting to

destinations, so it will be uncovered double. It is probably

better with not a lot of commuters, but it is horrible for the Christmas

season. Network Rail say it is good to check before you travel. They say

their services will improve. Antique Chinese ceramics owned by

Croydon Council have been sold for just over ?8 million in Hong Kong.

The council bought the items from local businessmen Raymond Riesco in

1959. The Museums Association has previously accused the council of a

breach of the code of ethics, but Croydon says the proceeds will go

towards redeveloping a 50`year`old arts Centre. 17 of the 24 lots were

sold in Hong Kong. The buyers were mainly private

collectors and dealers from Asia and Europe. The most expensive item was

this flask which sold for more than ?2 million. The proceeds of the sale

will be stepped Asch spent here. Croydon Council says Fairfield Hall

needs refurbishment. The council argues that with 300,000 visitors

every year compared to 10,000 people, this option offers the best

value for money for local taxpayers. They say it would be the

more popular choice. Would the hall had closed if you had not sold the

China? It is fairly likely. It was built in the 60s. It needs

substantial engineering and if we do not do that, it would have to close.

The collection was originally 650 pieces acquired by the council in

1964. Twice before parts were sold off, but critics say this latest

sale was legally and morally wrong. The public were not at any time

consulted. Where is the money really going to go? Fairfield Hall is a red

herring. We have said we would offer them free help to sort out marketing

and communication. It is a viable venue, but the council is killing

it. In Croydon News of the sale came as a surprise who did not know the

borough owned any ceramics. Would you prefer to have the China or save

a whole? Can I have both? Would you rather have the vase or help save

Fairfield Hall? I live here in Croydon and I would like to see it

better improved. The sale still leaves 206 items in the collection

and they can be seen in the Raymond Riesco gallery.

A High Court challenge against a decision to grant bail to a fugitive

Mafia boss has been delayed after he was taken to hospital. Domenico

Rancadore evaded Italian authorities for 30 years before his arrest at

home in Axbridge. Proceedings were delayed to allow his legal team to

seek information about his condition.

A London MP is considering taking legal action to remove squatters

from outside his constituency office in East Finchley. Around a dozen

supporters of the Occupy movement are camped outside Mike Freer's

office opposing new laws against squatting.

Londoners have lined the streets of Balham to welcome home the first

Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. 170 officers from the

regiment's Z company paraded through South London following a tour of

duty in Afghanistan. Courage, overcoming adversity, it is what

makes these men so special. I admire them and take my hat off to them. A

senior hospital consultant in Surrey is attributing much of the area's

rise in alcohol`related admissions to middle`class drinking habits. Dr

Christopher Tibbs says one of the reasons why the number of cases has

doubled in a decade is because people do not realise the simple,

long`term impact of having a bottle of wine with meals.

Affluent Epsom, not a place which springs to mind when you think of

areas where people might have health problems due to alcohol, and not the

type of place where it is just the middle`class for the steep rise, but

also the middle aged. But a leading consultant believes affluence in the

area is precisely what is leading to the rise. It is people of my age who

have been drinking heavily and socially since we were at university

in the late 70s who are coming in now. My parents' generation were

more frugal about their alcohol intake. One did not have this

middle`class, if I can be so politically incorrect, this

middle`class accumulation of slow alcohol intake over many years

because you can afford to drink. One quarter of drinkers in Surrey drink

at levels which increases the risk of damage to their health, that is

higher than the rate across London. While the rise in admissions to

hospitals for alcohol related illnesses has doubled to 200,000 in

a decade. Alcohol can be counted through its detrimental impact on

health or its financial cost to the NHS, but in Surrey that cost is

around ?70 million. But are the people in Surrey aware of the

situation? People are aware of the dos and don'ts of drinking, but I

would not say anyone is particularly worried about it and we do not

discuss it. A lot of people in Surrey like to drink. They call it

the Surrey liver. A lot of people like to drink at home. If I go on

mad benders I do not do it all the time. I do it once a month after

payday. Maybe the odd glass of wine when I get home. The Government has

acknowledged the problem and say they are committed to producing fair

and effective policies. All lorries should be fitted with safety

equipment to protect cyclists under Labour Party plans unveiled today.

They want hauliers to sign up to a ten point plan and say they would

consider legislation if elected in 2017. The Mayor is considering

restrictions on lorries. Campaigners say changes are painfully slow. We

are talking culture change and you have to ask yourself how do you want

people to travel? In other parts of Europe they want cycling and walking

to beat the preferred means. That means you have to legislate and

change your infrastructure to accommodate that. It is scary on a

political level. Still to come: I will be taking you on a tour of two

new sports venues at the Olympic Park.

And why this could just be London's best ever Christmas show.

More Londoners are choosing to live on the water. Nearly 10,000 of us,

it is thought, which is placing a greater demand on resources. Extra

facilities are needed including moorings to help prevent

overcrowding. Living on a houseboat on the River

Thames in winter might not suit everyone, but for David it is the

perfect way to live in central London. It is extremely relaxing. It

is part of the attraction. It is much more of a village style live

with a slower pace to it. That makes it attractive. What is also

attractive is the cost. This barge in Battersea would cost around

?100,000 to buy. He have to pay for council tax and a river licence.

More and more people are making London's rivers and homes their

homes, and the London Assembly is calling for this to be better

supported. We have got to see it as an option for some people and there

is the problem that facilities have not kept up with the demand for

boats. There are too many boats and there are not enough places where

people can clean their toilets and do their washing. The idea of living

on a houseboat will appeal to some people as a more cost effective way

of life, but can London's waterways cope? There are a lot of boats on

the river, especially in the congested area. We have seen a

doubling in the Regents Canal and this has an impact on rubbish

collection, the tow path, the local services. That is something the

canal and River trust cannot deal with on its own. With proper

planning, proper facilities, it can be done and it is an attractive way

of living. While the demand will have to be managed, it is hoped a

new generation of boat people in London will also be able to

flourish. As more parents turn to private tutors to help the children

pass exams, there are concerns that those who cannot afford it will fall

behind. 40% of pupils in the capital have private lessons, more than

anywhere else in the country. It is hoped a new scheme could make the

service more accessible. For every parent who pays for a tutor, another

child who cannot afford it is paid for free `` is tutored for free.

These magnets each have a word that is associated with a text. Welcome

to the growing world of private tutoring. India is seeing a tutor to

help with her A`levels. Feel like a have more of an advantage. I have

clearer notes and I'll understand it better. But this advantage has a

price that most pupils at this school cannot pay. Nearly half the

children all free school meals. Every year, they struggle to get the

brightest into the area's selective secondary schools. We know that

individual tuition is effective but we are concerned about the only kids

that are getting the benefit of that are well off children. It is

widening the gap between rich and poor. Now a new organisation hopes

to redress the balance. This foundation uses some of the money it

makes from private sessions to send tutors into some of inner London's

most disadvantaged primary and secondary schools. If it really

works, then let's try to give it to people that really need it. The

promise is that for every student who pays for a session, a student

who cannot pay will get one for free. The charity chooses its

schools waste on the number of children receiving free school

meals. It is then up to the teachers to decide which pupils they think

will benefit the most. Some schools use the tutors to help pupils

achieve a grade C at GCSE. There, the focus is on getting the children

into the selective schools in the borough. Most of the things we do in

our tests are things that teachers cannot help us with, so coming to

these clubs have made that easier for me. We do not know it at first

and then a few minutes later, we get every question. It raises the game

and they feel special. And it opens their horizons to think that

actually, perhaps if you work hard, I will do really well. The school

knows it will take more than tutoring to address the attainment

gap. But anything that causes it a little is very welcome. `` closes

it. 14 floodlights, each weighing 34

tonnes are being removed from the Olympic Stadium as part of its

transformation into a multiuse venue. A team of 20 and sailors are

working to dismantle two towers at a time with each light containing

around 35 lamps. It is expected to take until January to remove all of

the footlights. Elsewhere, today saw the completion

of a new sports venue, a state`of`the`art indoor tennis

centre for Paralympic hopefuls, tested out by some of Britain's best

players. The Eton Manor Centre includes an outdoor hockey pitch

which will stage major international tournaments. As Adrian Warner

reports, it is a key part of the London 2012 legacy.

Getting the wheels in motion, written's wheelchair tennis players

hitting the first rallies at a new centre at the Olympic Park. 100

years ago, the land on the right of the picture was the home of a sports

club, set up by Eton College to help the poor of East London. Now Eton

Manor Centre centre wants to attract more disabled people into sport. ``

now Eton Manor Centre wants to attract. There is not enough

facilities. Indoor centres are few and far between. This part of

London, I think it is a fantastic opportunity for the poor areas of

London that have been regenerated through the Olympic. It is a great

opportunity to have a great facility. The building was used as a

press centre during the Olympics but it has been designed with special

disabled showers and toilets and it will host a prestigious

international wheelchair tennis Masters when it opens fully next

year. The facilities are fully accessible and it is easy to get to.

Any disabled person coming down here will have no problems. If we can get

more places like this open, it will make things easier. This is a big

step forward. And it is not just a tennis centre. They have just

finished laying a state`of`the`art hockey pitch. And they are going to

stage international events here every year for the next five years.

Great Britain have won the bronze medal! Hockey has wasted no time in

getting big events since the Olympic. This stadium can be

expanded to host 15,000 people. No doubt about whose home pitch it is.

Just look at the colours. The venue will be available for schools and

clubs. We're developing a club out of the venue, so it will be a

fantastic venue from the grassroots write`up. Most of the venues will be

open to the public from next spring. `` from the grassroots upwards.

Meanwhile, details have been announced about the 2015 Rugby union

World Cup. Twickenham will host several fixtures including

England's first match in September. In the final at the end of October,

2015. The Truman's organisers also announced details today about the

availability and pricing of tickets for each match. There are four price

ranges for the final and the lowest is ?150. As I said, I'm not shying

away from it, to be able to have affordable prices, some expensive

prices at the top end. `` you also have to have some expensive prices.

The curtain goes up today for the latest show from the Chicken Shed

theatre company in North London. The cast is made up of 800 disabled and

able`bodied adults and children and they are celebrating a special

anniversary. Straight to bed or Father Christmas

will not come! It is the night before Christmas but in this show,

the children need to learn a lesson before they get their gifts. It is

about a family of children who do not know how to share. They go to

sleep and then they realise they get the wrong presence, so they have to

go to three different lands. We have a reindeer to pull our sleigh. Pull

our sleigh, right now! From me, to you! The hunt takes the characters

through a fairy tale journey. They see the ugly sisters, who are not

into sharing. And at that point, they learn about sharing. I

apologise. You heard the sound there but no pictures. Peter was here

earlier. Let's go straight to you. Give us a cheque, weather.

I was there and then disappeared. There is fog out there this evening,

turning misty. Over the next few hours, some of the

missing as will thicken. Some patches of dense fog will stop ``

misty nests. `` some of the misty nests will thicken. Some patches of

dense fog. You will not escape fog anywhere. There will be some low

levels and some at high levels. As the cloud thickens, it could produce

some grisly rain. We could find that disabilities slash Mack ``

visibility drops. We should be just about frost free overnight tonight.

Onto tomorrow, visibility should continue to improve during the

morning. It is going to be rather grey. Somewhat limited brightness.

We're probably looking at a top temperature of 10 Celsius. And that

is 50 Fahrenheit. And then tomorrow night, we will still have lots of

cloud above us, it will also have a freshening breeze. And those two

things should combine to keep us fog free and frost free. So, on to

Friday and a change. That change brought about by strong wind and a

showery cold front moving down from the North. What it will do, which

will be pleasant enough, is clear that overcast sky away. So we should

see some brightness to end the week. It certainly will be brighter than

it has been for most of this week. Although we will keep the clean

skies, we will also keep that blustery breeze. That is quite

important because from those numbers, you might expect to see

frost on the grass. But the breeze will keep the well mixed and that

means that you will not end up with cold air down on the ground.

Although it will be Chilean breezy, it should be free of frost. ``

chilly and breezy. A bright start to the weekend but it looks as though

the weather will be going grey again. As far as the outlook is

concerned, there is some brighter weather on the way. A little bit of

blue sky, what it will not be there for very long because the brace guys

will be back. `` the grey skies. You will very eagle `` you were very

eager with the weather. Before we go, reminder of the

headlines. David Cameron has promised to make it harder for

migrants to access Britain's welfare system. Restrictions to housing

benefit and jobseeker's allowance will affect entrants from Romania

and Bulgaria are eligible to arrival from January.

A businessman has been convicted of murdering a family of four at their

home in Northampton. The court heard that Anxiang Du killed them in

vengeful losing a legal battle over a Chinese herbal medicine business.

A judge has ruled that the trial of two sisters accused of defrauding

Nigella Lawson and her former husband, Charles Saatchi, can go

ahead. Lawyers for the sisters argued that they would not get a

fair hearing. A man has been found guilty of

murdering a woman who worked as an upmarket escort. Carol wore was

stabbed in the neck in her flat in central London. `` Carole Waugh. Her

body was found in a garage several months later.

And Network Rail has announced plans for engineering work over the

Christmas period, which could lead to severe disruption for passengers.

Some lines into London will be suspended for five days.

And that is it for now. Plenty more on our website, including their

piece that we could not show you, about the Chicken Shed theatre

company. The usual address. Alice Bhandhukravi will be back during the

ten o'clock news. From me and the team, thanks very much for watching

and have a lovely evening.